Dollars & Sense: Using Technology to Engage Players

Racing associations and tracks are pursuing new technology partnerships as they lean into drawing more data-driven bettors to the game and providing these types of tools to current players. In recent weeks both the New York Racing Association and Woodbine have announced deals that aim to provide new technology-driven tools for horseplayers. Some of those tools are similar to what computer-assisted wagering teams have used to find betting success. Woodbine is collaborating with leading international sports content and data provider Podium to give horseplayers access to Podium's Edge Form content, which offers pre-race insights, past performance indicators, and expert commentary. As more players approach the game through data, Podium notes that Edge Form keeps users on-platform and engaged with in-depth statistics, predictive analysis, verdicts and ratings, driven by its network. "I'm proud of Podium's reputation for fast, engaging data that elevates the racing experience for fans," said Podium managing director Josh Sparke. "Woodbine is one of North America's leading racetracks and the premier location in Canada. This new partnership reflects our commitment to supplying high-quality data that deepens our expanding global network. As we move into new markets, integrity, reliability, and quality will remain at the core of our business and the innovative data products we offer partners." Woodbine notes that this approach can help make its racing signal of interest to players throughout the world. "Woodbine is committed to delivering a best-in-class digital racing experience for our fans, and partnering with Podium allows us to further enhance the depth and consistency of our racing content," said Woodbine director Klaus Ebner. "Podium's Edge will bring high-quality insights and data that align with our standards and supports our ambition to connect Canadian racing with a truly global audience. We're excited to work with Podium as we continue to evolve how fans engage with our product." Because under the model winning players are paid by losing players, a strength of pari-mutuel wagering is that it's in the interest of tracks and wagering platforms to improve the handicapping prowess of players, as they compete with other bettors—including highly successful CAW players. In the fixed-odds model typically offered by sports betting platforms, it's a house vs. player approach in which the bet provider takes on some amount of risk. That model does not provide motivation for the bet-taker to improve the skill of its players. The New York Racing Association has teamed with Waigr to put in the hands of players AI-powered technology that generates handicapping information, statistics, live odds, and wagering options. The information is available to players on the NYRA Bets app and soon Waigr will be able to rapidly send wagers for those players. READ: NYRA Using Waigr to Put AI Technology in Patron's Hands "The CAW people don't need our help. This is for the regular folks," Waigr founder and former New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Joe Appelbaum recently told BloodHorse. "We're trying to create new statistics all the time. We've leaned on lessons from other sports. How many wins to expect from a trainer over a certain amount of time? Are they or the jockeys hot or cold? We are not using any commercial data, but we generate a lot of our own statistics from a vast array of past performances. Everything imaginable we use." That "everything imaginable" approach is possible, in part, because North American racing has collected so much race information for so many years. It's one reason racing has been well-positioned to attract data-driven players, such as CAW. These agreements are providing new opportunities to provide such insights to more players. NYRA CEO and president Dave O'Rourke noted that the Waigr platform can bring people to the game and provide them some level of confidence in betting. "It's bringing AI into the regular consumer's hands. It's democratizing wagering in terms of algorithmic wagering. It's like the ultimate version of CliffsNotes," O'Rourke said. "It has the ability to help a casual player or a sophisticated handicapper. If you're looking for a quick idea and an explanation of that, or if you're looking to onboard people into our game, I think this is a very powerful tool for that."