London
11th December 2001

    attheraces, the horseracing media rights company, today launched its racing information and betting website, which precedes the launch of the attheraces digital television channel next May.

    Rights to internet betting were an important part of the package acquired by attheraces (whose shareholders are Arena Leisure, BSkyB and Channel 4) in June this year, as part of the £307million deal with 49 UK racecourses.

    Chris Stoddart, CEO of attheraces said “This is an innovative site which will carry live video and audio from the 49 courses together with on line betting opportunities.”  Stoddart congratulated the teams at Arena Leisure and The Tote on completion of live co-mingling tests between attheraces and the totalisator pools.

    The attheraces website is designed to be punter friendly and includes a rich variety of news, views, comments and tips, together with the latest weather and going reports. The more discerning racing enthusiast can access speed ratings, breeding details and, by clicking on “RACE CARD”, read the full form analysis on jockey, trainer and horse.

    A further click on “RACE REVIEW” followed by the chosen horse’s name, reveals individual form statistics and “PUNTER POWER” gives the user a chance to generate their own racing statistics from the massive online database.

    Once satisfied that all the information needed has been accessed, all that remains is to place a bet, return to the home page where the transaction will be confirmed, and then, sit back, and for the first time ever on the web – watch, listen, live!
 
 

Features available via logging on

• The opportunity to view the day’s runners and riders via a scrolling racecard
• Study the racing calendar and fixtures for the year ahead
• Check out the weather and future forecasts for all 59 racecourses
• Access news stories, features and stable tours
• Keep updated on the breaking news stories, the latest turf conditions and non runners
• Hit the FUNLOUNGE and compete for fun in the attheraces digital derby.

Register for free to access:

• For the opportunity to source the ODDS, place a BET, and WATCH the race LIVE
• Follow the advice and top tips from our professional pundits offering exclusive comments for every horse in every live race
• Check out Lawrence Taylor's expert speed ratings
• Research statistics for horses, courses, trainers and jockeys
• Interact with our racing database in Punter Power to operate your own statistics guide
• Set up your “10 Horses To Follow” and receive automatic alerts regarding future outings
• Personalise the way you view attheraces.co.uk
• Play the attheraces daily quiz for the chance to win great racing prizes.

Available on subscription

• Archive horseracing video footage from June 2001.  This visual form guide will be complimentary for a limited period.

• attheraces, formerly titled Go Racing, has Channel 4, BskyB and Arena Leisure as equal shareholders.
• attheraces offer was accepted by 49 British racecourses in June 2001.  The £307m deal is worth three times greater than former income streams and participating racecourses received £47m in the first year.
• In addition there is a £72m marketing commitment over 10 years, which is available to complement existing and new racing initiatives. 
• The 49 UK racecourses include: Aintree, Ascot, Ayr, Bangor-on-Dee, Bath, Beverley, Brighton, Carlisle, Cartmel, Catterick, Cheltenham, Chepstow, Chester, Doncaster, Epsom, Folkestone, Fontwell, Goodwood, Hamilton, Haydock, Hereford, Huntingdon, Kelso, Kempton, Lingfield, Ludlow, Market Rasen, Musselburgh, Newbury, Newcastle, Newmarket, Newton Abbot, Nottingham, Plumpton, Pontefract, Redcar, Ripon, Salisbury, Sandown, Southwell, Thirsk, Uttoxeter, Warwick, Wetherby, Wincanton, Windsor, Wolverhampton, Worcester and York.
• The deal ensures continued terrestrial coverage on Channel 4 and BBC.  Both channels are working together to improve the narrative of racing coverage i.e. shared footage resulting in better programmes.
• A new lunchtime race on Channel 4 is to be introduced in 2002 and will result in expanded coverage from a wide range of courses.
• The new attheraces digital television channel will be available free-to-air from May 2002 and will cover the vast majority of British racing. The eventual aim is for a 24-hour programme showing live racing from the UK and overseas.
• BRIAN KRANTZ, President and General Manager for Fair Grounds Racecourse in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been appointment USA representative for attheraces.  He will be responsible for developing overseas relationships in the bid to secure prestigious USA racing for broadcast on attheraces services.  This will be reinforced by up-to-the-minute form and tipping advice provided by leading American pundits along with the introduction of a new co-mingling wagering system, where bets will be redirected into a UK pool.
• 49 racecourses will receive a share in all betting revenue from all platforms and all territories from day 1: 3% of pari-mutuel and 40% of fixed odds.  Racecourses will also share 25% of other revenues generated by attheraces from exploitation of their rights.
• BBC Worldwide is to handle the non-betting international broadcast distribution rights for all race meetings held at the 49 UK racecourses contracted to attheraces.  The target audience includes Europe, the Middle East, USA and South East Asia.
• The attheraces management team includes:

    Over the last six months, the attheraces.co.uk team has developed an advanced internet application that allows users to watch live and archive horseracing, research form, follow their favourite horses, jockeys and trainers and bet on horseracing operated from 49 British tracks.  This groundbreaking technology is guaranteed to take users closer to the racing action than ever before.

    By utilising TRACKPLAY, an interactive system for placing pool bets, attheraces.co.uk customers will experience the thrill of horseracing via the web with the developed functionality being scalable across other interactive media. 

    The technical architecture of the website has been designed with redundancy and resilience in mind, at the core of attheraces.co.uk is BROADVISION ONE-TO-ONE PERSONALISTION.  This powerful software product ensures that users enjoy a personalised racing experience, where content can be displayed according to preference.  For example weights on the racecard can be shown in stones and pounds or in the US format - pounds only.

    A link to the Merchant Service provider (Barclays) for debit card and subsequently credit card payment requests is conducted by POSTILLION whilst the extensive research facility is supported via data feeds from Weatherbys, Racing Pages and Weather Online. 

    The infrastructure used to supply the streaming of live and archive video to the desktop is physically separate from that needed to implement the rest of the on-line business.  There is a logical link between the two in that the scripts, which generate the web pages, must be aware of the URL’s that map onto the REAL and WINDOWS MEDIA video files.  The raw racing pictures are provided via satellite link from SiS to Virtue Broadcasting’s network where they are held until requested by the end user.  The downloadable Archive Video is available through Windows Media Player and is protected by latest Digital Rights Management solution.
 

Press contact:  
Hannah Walker
020 7291 1691 or 07971 598287