View from the Editor: Betting on a photofinish - August 2003  

Following the controversy surrounding my video referee experience last month (see July issue - View from the Editor), I was rather looking forward to visiting the photofinish room during a sojourn to the Epsom racecourse recently. "Imagine racing with the fate of millions of pounds of betting money relying on the judgement of one pair of eyes as a bunched field whizzes past the winning post at 40 miles an hour," proclaimed the RaceTech corporate brochure - RaceTech being the technology provider for the 49 race courses that are part of the attheraces consortium in the UK.
With my appetite surely whetted, I was convinced that while I was in that room I would witness a race so close that even the photofinish picture itself would cause a heated debate for months, if not years afterwards, and would of course lead to my personal coffers being boosted considerably. But sadly, the hairy monsters all galloped past at a convenient length apart and all that was controversial was the photofinish machine not adding its normal cailbration adjustment for a 0.1 second delay in the technology. Dave Smith, the referee in this instance, cantered into the room to see why his time was different to the one announced, but it was all sorted out without so much as a "Are you blind Ref?" (I kept quiet. It was something to do with asterisks which sounded a bit too complicated to me).
Not only did I not win on that race but I didn't choose a horse that was even placed during the entire race meeting. Sport and Technology's News Editor did not fare much better either proving that bad luck can be universal. I did however try to wager that Freddie Mercury would not be performing as part of the Queen tribute band at the end of the evening (apparently it is now commonplace to have a boogie at the end of the races at Epsom rather than to cry over a pint). Freddie was sorely missed but I was able to forget momentarily that I was £100 down for the evening (plus train fare, taxi fare, cost of bottles of wine etc, but who is counting?)

The Photofinish Room

The RaceTech team

But back to the technology and away from the vagaries of tribute bands and plummeting finances. According to the RaceTech corporate brochure, some jockeys "might - just might" get up to all sorts of trickery without the cameras recording their every movement. Those cameras (usually five per meeting, with extra for larger events such as the Epsom Derby and Royal Ascot) are supplied by the RaceTech team as well as the technology behind the starting stalls, race timing, public address systems, giant on-course screen sponsored by the Tote and closed-circuit television system - in addition to the photofinish technology.
The computerised photofinish system - Scan-O-Vision - consists of two digital cameras fixed in a place in the photofinish booth high in the stand (not the technology for someone afraid of heights). One camera covers the whole width of the track and the other concentrates on the part of the course furthest away from the camera in order to make the most of the strip of mirror that is attached to the winning post. The mirror is not supplied for the convenience of jockeys suffering a bad hair day, but to allow the judge to see what is happening from the far side of the course if the horses are so close together that the judge cannot see what is going on from his or her own vantage point. Prior to the development of this technology, film had to be processed before the judge could deliver a verdict which could take several minutes. Now, instead the judge examines the image that is instantly presented on the monitor. A vertical white line is added to represent the winning line and, hey presto, the outcome of a photofinish can be announced within 20 seconds.
RaceTech is one of the largest outside broadcast operations in British television and boasts the BBC, Channel Four Racing and Satellite Information Systems among its clients. RaceTech also archives race footage for the UK's Jockey Club stewards and provides the video feed to the attheraces website. "The plan was originally to be able to switch between racecourses on the website," according to Mick Both, director of technical engineering and technical operations at RaceTech, "although now we just supply the broadcast pictures."

The Tote Giant On-course Screen

The human touch

All the cameras are manned by real human beings at the attheraces courses although only the cameraman nearest the grandstand is able to pop off for a cup of tea explains Both. "But the other cameras have their own kettles," I was relieved to hear (although I was therefore worried that I might have argued against convergence too vociferously in the June issue of Sport and Technology). As well as being spoiled rotten by having access to copious cups of tea, the cameramen and race technicians are also allowed to place bets during the evening although "usually they don't have time," says Mick Rogerson from Highflyer Productions, which is the production company for attheraces.
Although if they did, they probably would have had more luck than me. And therefore enjoyed the Queen tribute band.

Rachael Church is the Editor of Sport and Technology and despite the report above, remains a devoted fan of the band Queen. If you have any comments or feedback on this article or any of the features in Sport and Technology, or would like to invite the Editor out for a day of top hospitality with a technology angle thrown in, we would like to hear from you. Please e-mail your comments and donations to editor@sportandtechnology.com

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