Cheltenham makes horse racing history with breakthrough 'VAR'

Horseracing's 'VAR' has been unveiled for the first time this year at the Cheltenham Festival - to solve racing's version of Premier League 'off-side controversies'. In football's Premier League, VAR - or Video Assistant Referee - was introduced at the start of the 2019-20 season after a unanimous vote by clubs in November 2018 but has sparked rows every game.

Now the British Horseracing Association (BHA) has introduced new winning post 'Lynx' technology that can capture a mind-blowing 6,000 frames per second for ultra-close finishes. With a staggering £1bn set to be wagered on Cheltenham's 28 races over four days, BHA judges want to ensure, beyond any doubt they can name the correct winner if two horses finish within millimetres of each other.

They commissioned RaceTech's 'Lynx' ultra high-resolution camera technology - which takes 6,000 frames a second - for use at Cheltenham and subsequently at other UK racetracks.

BHA Judge and team principal, David Hicks, said: "The introduction of Lynx photo finish cameras gives BHA judges access to the highest-quality images and supports us in calling the results of races to a much greater degree of certainty.

"The judging process itself doesn't change, our expert team still scrutinizes the photo finish and exercises their judgement, but the new equipment provides us with a significantly enhanced picture from which we can make an informed assessment."

"This precision really matters, especially when horses may be split by a very small number of pixels.

"We always want to use the best, most advanced technology to help support decision-making on a raceday."

"While it won't always be possible to split horses, with dead heats being inevitable at times, the new technology will provide much clearer evidence that can help improve the clarity with which decisions are reached."

The investment by RaceTech in upgraded equipment follows a trial period and an ongoing rollout process, during which the Lynx cameras have been tested extensively by the photo-finish operators and the BHA.

The images captured by the Lynx technology will be published on the BHA website and shared with broadcasters, to ensure consistency and transparency for participants and customers.

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These will be provided in a new style, with additional enhancements planned to continually improve the information available when displaying race results.

It was used for the first time in the first race of the Cheltenham Festival - the 1.20pm Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle - to decide who came second and third, between 9/2 Sober Glory and 6/1 Mydaddypaddy.

John Bozza, RaceTech Chief Executive Officer, told us: "RaceTech have been working very closely with Lynx camera systems and the BHA for the past 24 months developing the next generation of photo finish cameras.

"These new cameras not only offer greater resolution images but perform much better in lower light conditions. Lynx has also built a custom API to interface between the Lynx software and BHA platforms results data.

"We are delighted to support the BHA by investing in this new camera technology which will enhance the adjudication process."