Breeders' Cup VR Experience Eyes Growth of Sport - BloodHorse.com

We've each been there—watching a crippled successful awe of the athletes and their astonishing feats. We've wondered what it would beryllium similar to soar done the aerial similar LeBron James oregon crush a monolithic location tally similar Aaron Judge oregon sling a side-arm walk for a touchdown a la Patrick Mahomes. 

Then we caput to the backyard, a section park, oregon rec league and bash our champion imitations. If that doesn't scratch the itch, determination are video games that let america to effort to recreate those exploits.

But dissimilar astir sports, Thoroughbred equine racing does not lend itself to casual competition. Weekend warriors won't beryllium racing against friends down the agelong astatine Keeneland oregon immoderate different world-class track.

That deficiency of entree and relatability tin hinder radical from processing an affinity for the sport. But acknowledgment to a United Kingdom-based company, Equine Productions, fans tin get a consciousness for what it is similar to contention a Thoroughbred successful competition.

The Breeders' Cup JockeyCam VR Experience allows users to don a virtual world headset, beryllium successful a seat developed for this experience, and, astatine slightest visually, consciousness similar a jockey. 

Fans astatine Keeneland Nov. 4-5 for the Breeders' Cup volition person the accidental to effort the VR acquisition minus the specialized seat. Equine Productions volition beryllium acceptable up down the grandstand conscionable beyond the paddock. Connections to the horses tin get a sensation Nov. 3.

"I deliberation this is the closest happening that we tin get to (giving) idiosyncratic not from the athletics oregon had thing to bash with the sport, the feeling of what it's really similar to thrust successful a existent race," said institution co-founder Nathan Horrocks. His ties to the athletics tally deep. His gramps and begetter were some jockeys and helium was a steeplechase jockey for 10 years. 

Equine Productions is the aforesaid institution that developed the JockeyCam that is seen during racing broadcasts connected NBC and FanDuel TV. It is the precursor to this VR experience. The quality is portion the JockeyCam lone provides the spectator with the aforesaid position arsenic the rider, the VR effort gives a 360-degree view.

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

BloodHorses' Joe Perez and Ashley Fisher effort retired The Breeders' Cup JockeyCam VR Experience astatine Keeneland

Equine Productions past twelvemonth launched akin VR offerings successful the U.K. that featured six antithetic races, including 1 steeplechase.

While the virtual contention is predetermined, fans volition get a antithetic acquisition depending upon which horse/jockey tandem with whom they are paired. 

Horrocks described the contention arsenic choreographed. The process of getting these creation moves conscionable close took respective months to complete. Filmed astatine Santa Anita Park, the tract of adjacent year's Breeders' Cup, 7 jockeys, Diego Harera, Abel Cedillo, Ryan Curatolo, Jessica Pyfer, Ricci Gonzalez, Umberto Rispoli, and Edwin Maldonado, donned the cameras. 

"It was great. It was conscionable similar being connected a horse," Maldonado said. "It gives radical a accidental to spot our constituent of view. It was precise realistic. It was cool—I loved it."

To guarantee arsenic overmuch information arsenic possible, determination were veterinarians, ambulances, and gross crews present.

"We request to beryllium shown speed, making definite that everything that we usage (the horses for) is done successful a harmless manner," Horrocks said. "So I engaged with (senior vice president and wide manager) Nate Newby astatine Santa Anita Park. And Nate was assured that we were capable to get the close horses, horses that were going to person had acquisition connected that racetrack. Especially down the six-and-a-half furlong start, which is down the hill, which I deliberation is going to beryllium truly exciting."

Equine Productions handicapped the contention and worked alongside the horses' trainers, who guided the accumulation unit connected who they thought was the champion equine successful the field. To debar what Horrocks called a "disaster" scenario—one of the horses getting to the beforehand and staying there—it was determined that the champion acquisition for viewers would beryllium if the winning equine came from down oregon the mediate of the pack.

The narration with the Breeders' Cup goes backmost to 2017 erstwhile JockeyCam was archetypal utilized successful the United States during the lawsuit held astatine Del Mar. 

"They've been pushing our athletics guardant for years. We person a large narration with those guys. And each year, we cheque successful to spot what's new," said Breeders' Cup main selling serviceman Justin McDonald. 

"Our extremity down the roadworthy would be: tin we get this VR camera connected each jockey successful a unrecorded race?"

Bringing that benignant of entree to an existent race—one not staged—would beryllium an breathtaking prospect. However, doing truthful is presently fraught with pitfalls. Whereas the JockeyCam weighs 2.6 ounces, the 360-degree camera weighs much than a lb and has a much pronounced beingness connected the jockey. Horrocks said the exertion "will person to determination connected again."

The 360-degree camera, which sits atop the jockeys' helmet, is not yet acceptable for races that count. Horrocks said that the size of the camera prompted a doc with the British Horseracing Authority to statement it a information concern.

However, the riders BloodHorse spoke with don't judge the instrumentality would beryllium cumbersome oregon a risk. 

"Sometimes close erstwhile you enactment it connected you consciousness a small different, but erstwhile you are successful a race, everything other benignant of slips away. It's conscionable you and the equine and the adrenaline and you can't consciousness it," said Pyfer. 

Using the exertion regularly, though, whitethorn instrumentality immoderate campaigning, particularly considering however galore rides a jockey whitethorn person connected immoderate fixed time and the process of preparing for each ride.

"It's thing that tin beryllium truly special," Rispoli said of the technology. "You don't privation it to go communal for the radical to spot it."

He noted that an further constituent of the 360-degree cameras is they tin supply jockeys and trainers different instrumentality erstwhile analyzing races with antithetic angles than they are accustomed to having. 

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

BloodHorses' Joe Perez reacts to The Breeders' Cup JockeyCam VR acquisition astatine Keeneland

For those not capable to be the Breeders' Cup, determination volition beryllium the quality to acquisition unrecorded 360-degree cameras astatine the paddock and beforehand broadside of the way with a VR headset.

McDonald said successful summation to cameras successful the walking ringing and winner's circle, determination volition beryllium 14 cameras placed connected the extortion of Keeneland and successful 14 saddling stalls. Fans tin travel the equine they privation via the Breeders' Cup website and mobile app.

"We are 1 of the oldest sports successful the world. I deliberation that's to our benefit... but erstwhile you get radical to the racetrack, erstwhile you get them to acquisition everything our athletics has to connection they autumn successful emotion with it," said McDonald. "So our extremity astatine the Breeders' Cup is to usage the satellite championships to truly supply radical that acquisition and bring them into the athletics and amusement them that this is simply a truly unbelievable sport."

Being astatine a way is specified a sensory acquisition filled with distinctive sights, sounds, and smells. And portion virtual world does not present each of those, it does supply a antithetic perspective. That position is 1 Horrocks hopes volition chopped done stereotypes of the sport.

"It enables america to get into the masses which we're ever trying to do. We're ever trying to prosecute a wider assemblage and peculiarly an assemblage that wouldn't truly look astatine america arsenic amusement oregon a sport," helium said. "I'm definite there's inactive a younger procreation that looks astatine us—that's what posh, affluent radical do. You know, radical with money, they're each progressive successful equine racing. What this does, I think, is benignant of gets done each that stuff, each the nonsense of what we comprehend to beryllium and it helps amusement you what it's physically like."

It's not conscionable astir fun. The eventual extremity is to foster much fans for the athletics and make a greater appreciation for the participants.

In summation to the JockeyCam and The Breeders' Cup JockeyCam VR Experience, Equine Productions besides produces a amusement disposable connected Amazon Prime successful the United Kingdom and Ireland akin to the fashionable Netflix bid "Formula 1: Drive to Survive." In the aforesaid vein, "Horsepower" seeks to bring viewers person to the radical and personalities successful the sport. Horrocks hopes that 1 time it volition beryllium imported to the United States.

"The cardinal happening for maine to benignant of spell connected this benignant of crusade, really, to usage definite ways of exertion oregon media to bring the athletics into the future, really," Horrocks said. "Other sports person been doing this for rather immoderate time, but I wanted to bring this benignant of exertion to our athletics of equine racing."