Mahoning Valley, Penn National switch to GPS timing
Mahoning Valley Race Course in Ohio and Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania have installed GPS timing systems and will use those systems as their official timers, the developer of the system announced on Tuesday.
The two racetracks, both owned by Penn National Gaming Inc., join four other tracks to have installed the system since last year. The system was developed by Equibase with a partner, Total Performance Data, which runs GPS timing systems at a dozen racetracks in the United Kingdom. Equibase is the racing industry’s official data supplier.
The system uses GPS data to track horses as they make their way around the racetrack. Equibase has said that the system could be expanded in the future to also time official workouts.
The other tracks that have moved to the GPS system are Woodbine Racetrack outside of Toronto, Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, and Laurel Park and Pimlico Racecourse in Maryland.