TPD begins cash contribution to horse racing with £100k payment

Long-term partnership with ATR aims to deliver £500,000 plus in 2022 and set to increase

Following the success of its long-term partnership with Arena Racing Company (ARC), At The Races and Sky Sports Racing, the world’s largest and fastest source of live horse racing data, Total Performance Data (TPD), has begun remitting funds back into horse racing.

The multi-year tri-party collaboration between ATR/ARC and TPD is thriving such that TPD are now returning cash generated from data sales back into the sport. Having made their first payment of £100,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021, the data specialists aim to deliver over £500,000 in 2022 and double that in 2023 as it continues to have the financial sustainability of horse racing at the forefront of its business model – notable given the financial uncertainty that surrounds the future of the sport.

TPD, who are on course to have timed 500,000 horses by the middle of the year, are leading the world in delivering real-time race tracking data and the technology behind it generates increased customer engagement and new monies for racing by increasing betting turnover. TPD’s live data was introduced to a wider audience than ever before in 2021, as racegoers at the inaugural Racing League and Ascot racecourse were treated to live big screen graphics showing speed, sectional and positional data, while attendees at the Breeders’ Cup witnessed an industry-first tie up between the data specialists and jockey cam throughout the two-day meeting.

Will Duff Gordon, CEO of Total Performance Data, said: “After many years of investment and development, we are delighted to have reached a milestone where we are now delivering cash to racing having made our first payment of £100,000 at the backend of the last year. Given the somewhat murky outlook for the funding of the sport, we hope that the booming in-play market that our live data is helping to drive will serve as a glimmering beacon for its future.

“2021 was a big year for TPD as we further expanded our global footprint meaning we now provide live tracking data from 80 racecourses across five countries around the world. We enjoyed some exciting new ventures too, with our in-running data and graphics used at the Breeders’ Cup, Ascot and the Racing League and we are really hoping to push on in 2022. We are due to track our 50,000^th race and 500,000^th horse this year, so all the foundations are in place for 2022 to be an outstanding year for TPD and all our partners.

“We would like to thank ARC for their support in the UK over many years, along with Ascot, Chester and the small independent racecourses, while we owe great gratitude to Equibase in the United States, who have also been long-term, and very important partners. We’d also like to acknowledge our data subscribers, including Betfair and Bet365, as well as the punters who have used the content to inform their betting decisions under our B2C arm, TPD.Zone.”

Alan Delmonte, Levy Board Chief Executive, commented: “The Levy Board made a significant financial commitment almost three years ago that was designed to ensure the provision of sectional timing at every fixture. This was in recognition of the innovation’s potential to bring value to the horse racing fan and professional and to lead to longer term public interest in the sport. There has been substantial progress since 2019 and we are very pleased to have played a part in supporting and encouraging the rollout.”

Rob Dakin, Director of Sky Sports Racing, said: “TPD’s live race pace data is content that our viewers now couldn’t live without, and we took it further with the Racing League coverage. We look forward to making further use of this rich dataset over the coming months as Sky Sports Racing continues to invest in its coverage.”

David Hunter, CEO of Fakenham Racecourse said: “We feel it’s important to offer our horsemen and women feedback on the pace of each race when they come here, which we’re able to do thanks to TPD’s data that shows on AtTheRaces. TPD’s on-course operator is a popular member of the weighing room team and the fact that we also benefit financially is a great bonus.”