British Champion Series enhanced by Sectional Timing

Camelot wins last year’s QIPCO 2000 Guineas – what will TurfTrax reveal about this year’s winner at 3.50pm on Saturday?  Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

The Sectional Timing and Tracking System (STATS), provided by TurfTrax, is set to return during the 2013 QIPCO British Champions Series, which launches with the QIPCO 2000 and 1000 Guineas on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile this weekend.

The technology will be in use at most of the major racing Festivals this year, including the QIPCO Guineas Festival, Royal Ascot, the Piper-Heidsieck July Festival, Glorious Goodwood, the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, the Cambridgeshire Meeting and QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot. Every race on the card will be covered on the participating racedays.

As last year, Dubai Future Champions Day at Newmarket in October is a stand-alone additional day.

QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day also sees the launch of bespoke graphics designed specifically for on-course. This will enable real-time information to be displayed during races as well as post-race sectional timing analysis being made available to racegoers via the closed-circuit television system and the big screen.

The sectional timing initiative is jointly funded by QIPCO British Champions Series, Channel 4 and the individual racecourses involved.

Rod Street, Chief Executive of QIPCO British Champions Series, said: "We are delighted to be rolling out sectional timing once again, providing excellent analysis of many of Britain’s top races.”

Michael Prosser, Head of Racing (East Region) for the Jockey Club, said: "Newmarket Racecourses are staunch advocates of sectional timing. It provides invaluable information for the racing public to enhance their appreciation of the races and it’s great that racing is embracing modern technology in this way."

TurfTrax Managing Director Mike Maher said: "’We are delighted that our technology continues to be used to enhance the racing experience for racegoers and TV viewers as was particularly evident at the Grand National Festival at Aintree. We look forward to working with Channel 4 on further developments planned for later in the year. "

As speed and tracking data becomes more widely used in the industry, by broadcasters, handicappers and trainers, there is good reason for the racing public to want to have access to the same information, and we hope that visitors to the majority of QIPCO British Champions Series fixtures will welcome the new-style presentation.”

Carl Hicks, Executive Producer for Channel 4 Racing, adds: "From a Channel 4 perspective, we’re very supportive as I have already been quoted in the media as saying that any developments that will bring timings, sectional timings, data analysis of horse speed and relative distances run are great innovations to the sport and long overdue.

"We are very supporting of the British Champions Series, TurfTrax and the developments that will run throughout the Series and will ensure that we maximise their impact on Channel 4. ”

PARTICIPATING DAYS (with Series races detailed underneath)

QIPCO Guineas Festival, Newmarket Rowley Mile, 4-5 May

 QIPCO 2000 Guineas, QIPCO 1000 Guineas

Royal Ascot, 18-22 June Queen Anne Stakes, King’s Stand Stakes, St James’s Palace Stakes, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Gold Cup, Coronation Stakes, Diamond Jubilee Stakes

Piper-Heidsieck July Festival, Newmarket July Course, 11-13 July

Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes, Darley July Cup

Glorious Goodwood, 30 July-3 August

QIPCO Sussex Stakes, Artemis Goodwood Cup, Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes

Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, York, 21-24 August

Juddmonte International Stakes, Darley Yorkshire Oaks, Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup

Cambridgeshire Meeting, Newmarket Rowley Mile, 26-28 September

Nayef Joel Stakes

Dubai Future Champions Day, Newmarket Rowley Mile, 12 October

QIPCO British Champions Day, Ascot, 19 October

QIPCO Champion Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes sponsored by QIPCO, QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes, QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup

Note: other meetings may be added at a later date