Author: News

Halo And Palantir Join Forces In AI Partnership To Revolutionise Equine Analytics

Halo, the world's first equine AI technology platform and Palantir, Inc., a leading provider of AI systems, have joined forces in a strategic partnership, Halo announced at the AIP Conference in Silicon Valley, California on Thursday. This collaboration will offer analytics services to all members of the horse industry, starting with insurance solutions for owners, tailored to the unique risk profiles of their equine athletes.

The partnership will give horse owners, trainers, and equestrian enthusiasts with precision in predicting risks associated with their equine investments–before they happen. Owners who use the Halo app get a free 360 degree profile of their horses which provide recommendations on breeding, sales and racing decisions. The Halo app has an in-built AI assistant called Hailey, that owners can pose questions to like: “What is the most commercial stallion under $15,000 that I should breed my mare to?” Or “What are the top three listed races to target my horse at this year?”. Hailey is powered by over 100 years of global racing performance, sales results, jockey, trainer, racecourse, and horse welfare data.

“Halo is proud to join forces with Palantir to redefine the landscape of equine insurance,” said Neil Sands, a silicon valley design exec, and CEO of Halo. “We see a whole spectrum of applications for this technology, from breeding and auction, through to race selection, performance mapping and beyond. Our first mission however, is to transform horse welfare, by offering predictive insurance coverage that adapts to the ever-changing dynamics of the equine world. The equine industry has extensive pools of rich data that have never been taken from paper to a smartphone app like this before.

“We are already seeing this technology creating advantages in F1 racing, so why not in horse racing? Through this collaboration with Palantir, we are combining multiple data streams to deliver data-driven protection that predicts each horse's specific needs at any given moment. We believe that every horse should have the cover it needs, and are welcoming investors and partners to participate with us at the outset of our journey. In short, Halo is horse powered AI.”

Palantir's AI engine enables Halo to analyse a host of factors like a horse's pedigree, health status, activity level, competitive and environmental conditions, in real time. There is also synergy between racing updates and the insurance arm of Halo, i.e. after a horse wins a race, Halo instantly offers the owner the opportunity to increase the insurance on that horse. In addition, there is also an in-app marketplace, set to begin later in 2024, which will enable owners to sell their horses on a secondary market on an international scale.

For more information about Halo and this new partnership, please visit Halo's website.

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Arnold Receives Seven-Day Suspension for Tramadol Positive; Raises Contamination Questions

Trainer Rusty Arnold has been suspended seven days and fined $1,000 after the 2-year-old filly he trains, Figgy (Candy Ride {Arg}), tested positive for a metabolite of Tramadol.

“I received notification and today am accepting the penalties for a horse in my care testing for a controlled substance under current HISA/HIWU regulations,” said Arnold in a letter circulated by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. “To be clear,” continues Arnold, “I have no issue that I have a positive post-race test. The problem is why it is a positive. We can't afford to just stand on the rail expressing outrage whenever one of our training colleagues gets ensnared in HISA and HIWU testing policies and penalties that defy common sense and ignore the realities of our environment. We need to speak not amongst ourselves but to speak up together to regulators–loudly–that the system in place is unfairly hurting livelihoods and reputations while doing nothing to make our horses and industry safer. I'm not anti-HISA (Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority). But I'm very much against some of the policies they've put in place–and allowed its enforcement arm HIWU (Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit) to put into place–in determining drug and medication violations.”

Arnold said the drug was detected in Figgy's post-race test after her win in a Dec. 27 maiden race at Turfway, at a level of three nanograms per millileter of urine.

Tramadol is a narcotic used for moderate to moderately severe pain, according to the Mayo Clinic, which says it is also used to treat severe pain when opioids cannot be used or are not effective. It is often given post-surgery.

Officials at HIWU released a statement to TDN upon request. The statement read:

“A first-time presence violation for Tramadol, a Class B Controlled Medication under HISA's ADMC rules, calls for a period of Ineligibility of up to 15 days. This mirrors the penalty recommended for Tramadol in the ARCI's Model Rules, which predate HISA. Mr. Arnold chose to admit the violation, which reduces his period of Ineligibility to 7 days.”

Arnold continued: “I am accepting my penalty and will move on. However, I do 100 percent deny giving or instructing anyone on my staff to administer Tramadol to Figgy,” Arnold wrote. “We interviewed every person who came in contact with Figgy and no one had a Tramadol prescription. Figgy is under 24/7 state-of-the-art video surveillance supplied by Keeneland. This was offered to HISA, but they never responded to the offer to make that video available. We do not believe Figgy received Tramadol in our care.

“It is our belief that Figgy was contaminated with Tramadol either on the van ride to Turfway Park that day or in the receiving barn where she was in her assigned stall for approximately eight hours prior to her race. We have no control over those factors.”

Arnold said that he felt that HISA was unrealistic in its views and penalties for environmental contamination. “Horses are grazing animals,” he wrote. “They eat dirt. They love to lick smelly wet spots in stalls. They eat manure. They lick the walls of ship-in stalls. It is unreasonable to think we can control this.”

HIWU's statement to TDN continued: “HISA has introduced a cleanliness review of receiving barns into its racetrack accreditation visits and will continue to emphasize to racetracks the importance of maintaining the highest level of cleanliness standards in receiving barns to minimize any risks to horses.”

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