Taking the Guess Work Out of Identification: How Lip Chip Becomes a Tool to Unlock Horse Data

The following sponsored content comes from the makers of Lip Chip.

Six. The average racehorse must be identified no less than six times in order to safely enter, work, and run at tracks across America. Horses are identified when they arrive in the trailer, when a veterinarian administers treatment, and when they are taken to the track for a work. When they run, horses are identified at the holding barn, again in the paddock, and finally they are identified again at the test barn. Six occasions in which not being able to tell one bay with no markings apart from another could be dangerous. Six occasions where racetracks and their regulatory bodies must ask themselves — can we truly know one horse from another? One company — Lip Chip LLC — decided it is time to stop guessing.

Lip Chip LLC offers a new way to identify horses and solve issues that have been plaguing the equine industry for decades. The company's Chip Link System uses microchipping and a state-of-the-art handheld reader to go beyond just your average identification. Most microchipping technology simply reads the chip's 15-digit identifier, and nothing more. The Chip Link System uses a Bluetooth reader to send that unique identifier to a smart phone, tablet or PC, which unlocks secure data linked to each horse as their microchip is scanned. The user can identify each horse within seconds and view current Coggins, owner information, emergency contact numbers, and even recent photos of each horse. Instead of relying on hard copy paperwork, horsemen can identify horses and view their data from a secure location — no more forged documents or similar horses being swapped. Microchipping unlocks a new level of security.

Lip Chip offers not only superior technology but also superior placement for horse owners and trainers who are tired of the issues with the traditional method. Currently, microchips are placed in the nuchal ligament. However, these microchips are shown to migrate up to 30% if not properly injected. Lip Chip offers a new placement in the upper mandible, which goes into the top lip of the horse. This placement has seen less than 1% migration. It also provides unobstructed access to the microchip, as most horses are more likely to bump a foreign object with their nose than their neck. Identifiers can reach the chip much easier in the trailer and at the paddock, and scanning is a safer and quicker process.

Lip Chip's superior placement offers an additional benefit when using thermal microchips. Thermal microchips are used as a guide to check each horse's baseline temperature, and daily scans can often catch a health concern that would warrant a trip to the vet. Lip Chip testing has revealed a truer temperature in the nasal position versus the nuchal ligament by up to 2 degrees when compared to a traditional thermometer.

Brad Bolen, president and founder of Lip Chip LLC, knows all too well the issues facing the equine industry. Bolen is a graded stakes winning trainer and has been training, breeding, and owning horses for over 30 years. When Bolen founded Lip Chip LLC in 2018, it was to answer the call for help that he had witnessed in his years at the track.

“Honestly, I had heard people talk about the issues they were seeing every day, and no one ever did anything about it,” said Bolen. “You would have an entire racetrack get shut down because of an equine herpes outbreak, or have a horse get scratched because they couldn't find his microchip or read his tattoo. And I knew it was time to find a way to solve these issues and make life easier on our industry.”

All equine disciplines can benefit from the Chip Link System. All horsemen face the same issue of keeping up with hard copy paperwork for each horse. In order to compete in any show, rodeo, or race, these equine athletes are held to a higher standard to ensure disease and cheating does not occur. The ability to scan the horse and retrieve this information is a game changer and adds a new level of transparency to equine performance.

The Chip Link System also offers solutions to checking in at equine venues. Tracks, show arenas, and rodeos can cut the time needed to identify horses and check paperwork by more than 50 percent. Currently as horses enter, they must be identified by their markings (if they have them), and each Coggins, piroplasmosis, and health certificate must be checked by hand. On average, a full trailer load can take five to 15 minutes to check in. By using the Chip Link System, facilities can have horses preregistered and ready to scan, cutting their check in down to two to three minutes. Simply scan each horse, quickly see their pre-approved documents, and then move on.

Lip Chip was built by horsemen, for horsemen, to bring integrity and transparency back to the industry. The Chip Link System offers a way to move past just an identification and make each microchip a secure key for horses and their handlers. It is time for technology to stop being the enemy of the horseman and instead become his saddle partner. It is time to let the innovations of today help the issues that have plagued our industry for generations. The future of equine microchipping is here, and the future is Lip Chip.

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Elevating Horse Racing: Hieronymous Took Keeneland’s Broadcasting From The Bottom To The Top

In the early 2000s, hosting the Breeders' Cup seemed an unattainable ambition for Keeneland. Like many racetracks, they lagged behind in broadcast quality and needed to improve venue infrastructure. But in a dramatic turnaround in 2005, Keeneland won the first of seven International Simulcast Awards for outstanding simulcast signal. In 2015, Keeneland became the home of what's widely acknowledged as the best Breeders' Cup ever.

The year 2000, when G.D. Hieronymus joined Keeneland as Director of Broadcast Services, marked a turning point for the racetrack's broadcast department. Under Hieronymus' leadership, Keeneland became the most technology-advanced broadcast facility in horse racing across the US.

Leading the broadcast signal innovation

Keeneland's broadcast signal struggled with average standard definition (SD) quality. In 2000, Keeneland approached Hieronymus, then Vice President of Production at Hammond Communications, and tasked him with transforming its simulcast broadcast to stand out from the crowd.

Hieronymus believed in the power of delivering a compelling fan experience both on-track and in-broadcast, and was committed to upping Keeneland's game.

“Compared to other sports, horse racing has been miles off delivering great broadcast coverage and an engaging at-venue and off-track viewing experience. At Keeneland, we were determined to change that with the right technology,” Hieronymus said.

Keeneland was ahead of its time in recognizing that network air time relied on the racetracks delivering a high-quality broadcast signal. To meet this goal, Hieronymus concentrated on making Keeneland the first full-HD racetrack in North America. The Keeneland team upgraded the camera equipment and control room, dramatically improving the racetrack's simulcast signal and distribution. They were also one of the first racetracks to include a TVG-dedicated position in the control room, helping increase their TVG air time.

“We were committed to making the networks' job easier and delivering the signal quality they needed to make Keeneland look good. We've built our control room on this premise,” Hieronymus said.

The Breeders' Cup milestone

During Hieronymus' service, Keeneland hosted the Breeders' Cup World Championships in 2015 and 2020. The horse racing industry still praises the 2015 competition for its great planning and execution despite difficult weather conditions at the time.

In 2020, the Breeders' Cup returned to Keeneland under even more challenging conditions. With COVID-19 protocols limiting at-venue audience attendance, the virtual viewing experience became even more important. This was the perfect opportunity for Hieronymus and his team to revolutionize fan engagement at Keeneland.

“As a horse racing fan and wagerer, I've always felt the viewers were at the mercy of technical directors, who typically only focused on the top horses in the race,” he said. “This meant we hardly got the chance to see other horses during pre-race. I wanted to change that.”

Keeneland, NBC, and Breeders' Cup deployed over 80 television cameras covering the event, but Hieronymus wanted to take the fan experience a step further. Together with the Breeders' Cup and LTN Global, he delivered the Contender Cam, the ISO coverage of every horse in every race. The Contender Cam provided 14 individual views of each horse, from when the horse entered the paddock to when it entered the starting gate. This footage of individual horses, available on the Breederscup.com app, Player Show, and NBC, enabled fans and bettors to see their preferred horses up close before placing their bets — replicating and enhancing the in-person fan experience.

HD TV Renovation/Upgrade. Photo Left to right Lauren Warren, Philp Richardson, GD Hieronymus, and Curt Toumanian from Pegasus Communications, Inc.

The Breeders' Cup also featured 360° VR technology, providing an immersive live fan experience of the walking ring and Winner's Circle, and jockey cams allowing fans to experience live view from up to two jockeys in each race. In addition, the Breeders' Cup deployed a 100-miles-per-hour BatCam that provided dynamic aerial views of the races.

Becoming a world-class technology-driven leader for Thoroughbred sales

Aside from a top racetrack, Keeneland is also the Thoroughbred industry's leading auction house, with the most bloodstock going through auctions. Hieronymus and his team introduced a technology infrastructure to optimize the sales operation and  buyer interaction and attract more interest worldwide. From a new control room to touchscreen devices that share data and information when horses come in and are integrated with the sales systems, Keeneland has led sales innovation.

In 2020, Keeneland introduced remote bidding to compensate for the pandemic-induced travel restrictions and enable more buyers from across the world to take part in digital auction services. The sales team offered sellers video opportunities to show their horses well in advance and increase bids. 

Every racetrack can champion horse racing experience 

Keeneland's journey has demonstrated that nothing is impossible when a track's broadcast department is determined to innovate to deliver an outstanding fan experience. Starting with switching to HD and dramatically improving the signal quality, Hieronymus and his team made Keeneland the most innovative racetrack in the country — winning broadcast awards and setting the bar for Breeders' Cup production.

Hieronymus believes in driving fan engagement and creating new revenue opportunities through innovation. With the rest of the sports industry moving fast to 4K, 8K, and rich content formats, racetracks need to deliver a high-quality broadcast signal to compete. To claim a bigger share of the fast-growing sports wagering market, racetracks should create more opportunities for fan and player engagement — and data is a good way to achieve it.

Despite his retirement from Keeneland earlier this year, Hieronymus is still involved in numerous projects across the horse racing industry. Above all, he is on a mission.

“I really want to support all racetracks in raising the quality of their broadcast signal and help our industry compete with other sports head-on,” he said.

Rich Rosa is the Vice President of Business Development for Wagering and Simulcasting at LTN Global Communications. As LTN's horse racing industry lead, Rich partners with  tracks across the country to help them create high-quality productions and find new distribution outlets to raise their profile — and ultimately their wagering handle.  LTN offers centralized production and IP-based transport services to help tracks produce and/or distribute high-quality HD and 4K content.

About LTN Global

LTN® Global is a worldwide leader in video technology solutions for producers and distributors of broadcast-quality content. Built on the world's fastest and most reliable IP multicast network, LTN's universal media ecosystem unites modular services and integrates with other leading technologies to bring full-video-chain workflows, driving scale from creation and acquisition to monetization and delivery.

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Elevating Horse Racing: Carr Shows How Technology Is Democratizing Innovation In Television Production

Nothing is impossible for those with the drive to innovate — even producing two high-profile events halfway across the country at the same time. When tasked with producing Olympic track and field events — one in Oregon and one in Iowa — Jim Carr wasn't sure how he could spread his team across both events. He decided new muxing technology from LTN Global could allow him to try something new: a workflow with remote video feeds from Iowa sent back to his production truck in Oregon, enabling his team to remotely produce both events simultaneously.

With 30 years of experience producing sports events and five Emmys under his belt, Carr knows how to solve production challenges — and he's bringing his passion for innovative production to racing. His team at Carr-Hughes Productions produces the Breeders' Cup Championship and Breeders' Cup Challenge series for NBC, adding elements like virtual fan engagement to make the events even more compelling.

Broadcast production in a changing market

Carr has been an advocate for remote production long before it became a trend. He witnessed the media organizations' reluctance to try new production models and workflows until the COVID-19 pandemic forced their hand. Even the most hesitant media organizations pivoted to new technologies and production workflows to keep shows on air — with surprising success.

“When it comes to video production, I see myself as an innovation incubator. I like to try new technologies and workflows to see how they work in the real world,” Carr said.

This mindset is invaluable for the horse racing industry, which struggles to produce broadcast-quality video content and achieve other production enhancements. I've gotten to know the Carr-Hughes team through our collaboration on special events like Breeders Cup, Pegasus World Cup and many Kentucky Derby prep races. He's worked closely with my team at LTN Global to get reliable, ultra-fast IP network connectivity at race tracks to produce races and events — enabling new ideas like live fan engagement elements. At Breeders' Cup, Carr used our IP network to bring in live video feeds from a horse barn in the UK where people were watching the show. This added an immersive feel to the production, bringing it closer to the fans regardless of their geography.

“It all comes down to having the right technology partner,” he said.

Jim Carr on location

Carr believes IP network connectivity will revolutionize production workflows, driving efficiency and new possibilities. If producers can set up networks and have a VPN on the other end, they'll be able to send camera signals to a studio or a production truck over the network.  This will change the way production works.

Thinking big, acting small

In the past, the big broadcast networks were the main drivers deploying new technologies.

“The lower cost and higher volume of innovation have now democratized it,” Carr points out.

As a result, video production companies and horse racing production teams can deploy new technologies that deliver broadcast quality. For instance, Carr-Hughes works with a Philadelphia-based graphics professional over an NDI network, allowing them to securely transfer the video signals for the graphics to the rest of the production team over the internet.

“We're always looking for better and more efficient ways to produce events and deliver to the networks,” he explains. “Now there's a lot of great technology out there that allows smaller companies like ours to deliver network-quality to the networks to make things happen for our customers.”

For Breeders' Cup television production, this is where the magic happens

Pushing the boundaries of what's possible

Innovation requires experimentation that's often easier to happen on a smaller scale as it isn't always about the next big breakthrough. It can be a case of making the right changes and having the right tools and tech partners to deliver great results efficiently. It's about pushing boundaries and bringing fresh perspectives. With visionary producers like Jim and his team, horse racing can be ready for the exciting times ahead.

Rich Rosa is the Vice President of Business Development for Wagering and Simulcasting at LTN Global Communications. As LTN's horse racing industry lead, Rich partners with  tracks across the country to help them create high-quality productions and find new distribution outlets to raise their profile — and ultimately their wagering handle.  LTN offers centralized production and IP-based transport services to help tracks produce and/or distribute high-quality HD and 4K content.

About LTN Global 

LTN® Global is a worldwide leader in video technology solutions for producers and distributors of broadcast-quality content. Built on the world's fastest and most reliable IP multicast network, LTN's universal media ecosystem unites modular services and integrates with other leading technologies to bring full-video-chain workflows, driving scale from creation and acquisition to monetization and delivery. 

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Elevating Horse Racing: How Indiana Grand’s Eric Halstrom Is Changing The Viewing Experience

Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, is on a quest. He wants to create the kind of innovation that will make Indiana Grand not just the gold standard in horse tracks, but a point of reference in the larger entertainment world.

I had the pleasure of working with Eric when he led innovation at Harrah's Louisiana Downs, using new ideas to help drive a staggering 70% increase in its wagering handle.

In a time when our industry is at crossroads, Eric and his team are charging ahead with innovations like a new drone program, a new audio and visual system for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission stewards, and a robust social media presence.

Driving innovation in horse racing

Anyone working in horse racing knows our industry isn't quick to change. For years, production and distribution have been stuck in a standard definition and closed-distribution rabbit hole. This has hindered the industry from finding new destinations and audiences, as well as new opportunities to enter the wider sports betting market.

Remote production and high definition content distribution changes what's possible for the industry, and Eric and his team have jumped on the opportunity to delight fans and find a wider audience.

Being a horse racing enthusiast and sports bettor himself, Eric understood what customers want: a compelling viewing experience. That's true whether they're watching TV or at the track. And when it comes to wagering, the right camera angle can speak a thousand words. That's why Eric is so excited about Indiana Grand's deployment of a camera drone which will capture shots and angles that weren't possible before.

The Matrice 200 Drone features the latest capabilities in aerial production, including zoom options with adjustable speed.  The device is a little less than three feet in width and stands 16 inches high. The drone project hasn't necessarily been easy to execute. Although drones have been deployed in a limited capacity at the Breeders' Cup, this is the first time one will be fully integrated into horse racing TV production. 

Luckily, Eric's 15- strong team shares his ambition for innovating and Eric knew the camera drone idea had legs.

“You know your idea is good when it sparks excitement across the team,” he said. “Everyone immediately felt that deploying a camera drone would shake up the horse racing viewing experience.”

In addition to upfront investment in drone technology, Eric's team had to recruit three drone operators willing to go through 80 hours of training with the Federal Aviation Administration to be licensed a Remote Pilot Certificate. 

Orlando Mojica in the Indiana Grand winner's circle with track executive Eric Halstrom

Geared to win

2020 has been a challenging year, with the industry relying on creative and passionate people like Eric to keep going while looking for new opportunities. Is innovation as easy as it sounds? Definitely not. Eric and his team are ready to up their game.

“We want to explore what shots are particularly interesting to our clients and deliver them consistently,” he said. “We appreciate that innovation is a trial and error process.

“As we continue to optimize the equipment, we'll discover opportunities with the drone that we aren't even aware of at this time.”

Rich Rosa is the Vice President of Business Development for Wagering and Simulcasting at LTN Global Communications. As LTN's horse racing industry lead, Rich partners with  tracks across the country to help them create high-quality productions and find new distribution outlets to raise their profile — and ultimately their wagering handle.  LTN offers centralized production and IP-based transport services to help tracks produce and/or distribute high-quality HD and 4K content.

About LTN Global 

LTN® Global is a worldwide leader in video technology solutions for producers and distributors of broadcast-quality content. Built on the world's fastest and most reliable IP multicast network, LTN's universal media ecosystem unites modular services and integrates with other leading technologies to bring full-video-chain workflows, driving scale from creation and acquisition to monetization and delivery. 

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