Equibase

When Maximum Security (New Year's Day) had to fight his way to a narrow victory in the GII San Diego H., it was fair to question whether or not this was the same horse that had been so outstanding throughout his career for trainer Jason Servis. Yes, he won that day, but the dominance and brilliance he had shown on so many occasions for a trainer who was subsequently indicted for allegedly doping his horses was not there. Then again, it seemed unwise to write him off after one race....

In response to reports of inaccurate times being produced for Del Mar turf races by its new Gmax GPS timing system, Equibase said in a statement Thursday that Del Mar will hand time its turf races for the rest of the meet. The statement also admitted the company found "inconsistencies" in the Gmax timing of Del Mar turf races that it will work to fix before the fall meet at the seaside oval. "Del Mar racetrack will be utilizing hand timing for turf races for the remainder of the summer...

One day after Bill Finley wrote about inconsistencies in timing at a handful of racetracks in the U.S.--both big and small--in Wednesday's TDN, Pat Cummings, the Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, has penned a piece of his own, explaining why accuracy in timing is paramount to the game and offering a framework for how to move forward. "The state of race timing in America is not improving as the years pass. It is getting worse," writes Cummings, who served as the director of racing information for Trakus for...

When the horses in the fourth race at Del Mar Aug. 1 crossed the wire, the final time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth turf race was posted as 1:41.18. There was no reason to believe the race was mistimed and no announcements to that effect were made, but when the official chart was released by Equibase the time was listed as 1:40.80. It happened again in the next race on the card, a mile dirt race originally timed in 1:38.60, but changed to 1:38.53 in the official chart. It didn't stop there....

The total amount wagered on U.S. races in July saw a 16.63% increase over 2019 figures, the best month the sport has had this year and a sign that the effects of the coronavirus are no longer negatively impacting handle. The July handle of $1,098,728 was the first $1 billion-plus monthly handle on the year. Prior to the release of the figures, there had already been signs that July was going to be a good month. The handle for GI Haskell S. day at Monmouth was over $20 million, the...

As many people in the United States and around the world question their personal views on diversity and racial inclusion, we decided to look inwardly on our industry, and we found it wanting. So we asked a tough question to several industry members- How do we make racing at its highest level more diverse? JASON WILSON, President and COO of Equibase  I am keenly aware that I am the only African-American in the executive ranks of horse racing. I used to joke that Equibase's advertising meeting was the most diverse...

The Thoroughbred Racing Economic indicators for the month of May released by Equibase Thursday reflected the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which halted racing in March. Including worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races, wagering was down 30.16% ($908,504,654) from May of 2019 (1,300,923,869). Other figures that showed marked decreases in 2020: • U.S. Purses - $31,971.002 (-72.39%) • U.S. Race days - 123 (-450) • U.S. Races - 1,059 (-70.99%) • U.S. Starts - 9,145 (-64.77%) Figures which showed increases over the corresponding period in 2019 included: Average Field Size,...

Like many issues in racing, the inaccuracy of published workout times is something we who are firmly planted in the industry have all just accepted as the way it is. Quote a breeze time to any trainer, owner or serious horseplayer and they'll tell you why it's pointless. "Official" times of works, and rankings, bullets, etc. are almost never correct, and somehow we've all just gone along with it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has analyzed workout video of a horse like it was the Zapruder film...

I am writing in response to the Open Letter to the Industry by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TDN, April 18) : This has been a challenging time for horse racing and the country as a whole. As sports shut down last month, Equibase examined what it could do to help support efforts to promote horse racing. With expanded television coverage on FOX Sports and NBC Sports, potential new fans are being exposed to horse racing in unprecedented ways. We have been working with NYRA to provide free past performance products...

Under normal circumstances, with many tracks running on a busy Saturday afternoon, it's not uncommon to see races at different venues go off on top of each other. The occurrence usually leads to a flurry of frustrated tweets, with bettors, fans and even racing participants wondering why the issue can't be remedied--it seems like it should be an easy fix. Last Saturday, the convergence of post times reached a new level of irrationality. With the Tampa Bay Downs card already in the books, just two Thoroughbred-only tracks were holding races--Gulfstream...

by Thoroughbred Idea Foundation For more than two weeks, Home Box Office (HBO) has offered free streaming via the HBO Now and HBO GO platforms for several of its famous titles, "the first time...this type of programming [is] available outside of a paywall throughout the month of April. The service is usually priced at $14.99 per month." Horse racing is not HBO, but the point is obvious. What a better way to get people to try your product than take the most captive audience period in history and give them...

Officials at Equibase Company LLC have announced that it has Axcis Information Inc. (TrackMaster), a wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with American Teletimer Corporation (ATC) to acquire the latter's timing assets. ATC is a leading provider of timing, photo finish and video content for Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Greyhound racing and the company will retain the photo finish and television production segments of their business. TrackMaster will take over ATC's timing operations at 52 Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks in the U.S. The deal is expected to close this...