海角大神 (BHA) has today announced that the secondary scanning procedures at racecourses 鈥� whereby horses鈥� microchips are scanned upon leaving the stables before a race 鈥� have been enhanced further with a race-specific identity check.
The scanning devices used to scan the horses by Equine Welfare Integrity Officers (EWIOs) now link the identity of the horse being scanned to the runners list for the race it is being scanned out for. This enhancement will ensure that if the wrong horse is brought out an alert within the technology will be triggered, to minimize the risk of human error leading to further identification mix-ups.
When the horse is scanned it will list the horse鈥檚 age, colour, sex, microchip number, which race it appears in, as well as the trainer and what number saddle cloth the horse is due to carry, in case it is saddled in the stables.
Should a horse be scanned for a race it is not due to contest, the app will prompt the user with a message saying 鈥渢his horse is not a runner in this race鈥�. Work will also be completed shortly whereby the Stewards on duty will also have oversight of the scanning data.
The technology has been developed with Cheltenham鈥揵ased agency EventLog Limited and incorporated into the existing launched last summer.
Brant Dunshea, Director of Integrity and Regulatory Operations at the BHA, said:
鈥淥ur priority following the recent mix ups at Southwell was to take whatever steps were appropriate to ensure that the issue doesn鈥檛 happen again.
鈥淚t is vital that the public鈥檚 trust in racing as a fair, well-regulated sport, which is run with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity, is not impacted by similar incidents.
“The launch of the race identity check will achieve that aim as it further mitigates the risk of human error impacting the scanning and identification process”.
Notes to editors:
1. More information about EventLog can be found .
