Horse racing is one of the most attended sports on the planet, making it important for tracks to enable a vast number of visitors to have the opportunity to pay via their bank cards.
As well as food and drink stalls, a growing number of on-track bookies are now offering cards as an available option when making horse races betting.
This ensures that bets on the sport can be placed on track, without the need for cash, which was traditionally the accepted method. But how are racecourses able to seamlessly handle hundreds of thousands of transitions on track with ease?
How Many People Attend Horse Racing
Before assessing the methods in place to ensure seamless transitions are available on track, it is first important to note the sheer size of horse racing events.
One of the biggest occasions on the U.S. calendar comes in the form of the Kentucky Derby, which regularly sees over 140,000 fans in attendance. The record number of fans in attendance was set back in 2015, as 170,000 visitors passed through the gates at Churchill Downs.
In this modern day, the vast majority of fans passing through the gates at a racecourse will wish to pay on card, with a reported 41% of Americans no longer carrying cash on them. But what systems are in place to ensure seamless transitions can be made at sporting venues?
Totalisator Systems
As mentioned, the vast majority of sportsbooks will now accept card on track. This is due to the Totalisator Systems that are available.
These Tote systems are able to utilize advanced software and manage pari-mutuel betting immediately by calculating odds and ensuring that bets can be processed quickly.
The Tote will also connect to off-track betting networks to ensure that the most accurate odds are available, making it one of the safest and fairest betting options for the bettor.
Mobile Payments
One of the fastest growing trends of the modern era has been payments being made via mobile devices.
This has been incredibly popular with fans of a younger age, as there is added insurance due to the need not to take out a plastic card.
Mobile payments are now available at the vast majority of sporting venues across the world, with Google Pay and Apple Pay widely accepted. As well as mobile payments, many tracks will also encourage visitors to have digital tickets on their phone, meaning that only a mobile device could be required for a whole day at the track.
Not only is this encouraged due to safety reasons, but making payments via a mobile device also removes the need for visitors to carry cash.
Wi-Fi Infrastructure
In part due to the previous paragraph, racecourses now use high-quality Wi-Fi Infrastructures to ensure that visitors are readily able to use their mobile devices freely around the course.
Higher bandwidth areas are also found at racecourses to deal with the demand for massive data flows, with all visitors in attendance likely spending time on their mobile devices in some capacity.
This could come due to making bets on a mobile betting app or simply updating a social media page. At the heart of the fast Wi-Fi Infrastructure is making the connection as fast, safe, and secure as possible.
This is likely a security factor that all racecourses will assess long before a major event on the calendar, as keeping those in attendance as safe as possible is of major importance.
AI Analysis
Technology is regularly being used by many of the biggest sporting venues across the world in this modern day, and this has helped to ensure a seamless transition experience for all visitors when it comes to making their payments.
AI is a common tool used by tracks, as the tech is able to analyse previous data to predict peak times for service, meaning that tracks can increase their productivity at key points to ensure the best possible experience.
Being able to predict peak times for customers is important information for a track, as it will ensure that the systems that they have in place aren’t stretched at key moments in which they are likely to gain more income than at other points of the day.
Opening Gates Earlier
One of the common themes that has been evident in recent memory is the steps that tracks have taken to ensure efficiency in terms of transitions by opening doors to the public earlier.
This gives visitors extra time to pass through the gates and make early purchases.
Traditionally, the vast majority of fans would arrive at the same time, before tracks being more flexible with their times has ensured that transactions are unlikely to take long, and it gives a better customer experience due to being given the opportunity to avoid major queues by getting in earlier.
