The Victoria Racing Club has joined a small but select group of international racing organisations providing product for the launch of a new online global racing platform.
World Horse Racing is a new media company that plans to produce stories, features and vision about thoroughbred racing from around the globe.
The VRC, which controls Flemington, is the only Australian race club to have signed up for the new platform, and its leaders believe its presence will help it maximise revenues from digital distribution of content (mainly racing), reinforce its global brand and boost sponsor exposure.
VRC chair Amanda Elliott says signing up to World Horse Racing will boost events such as the Melbourne Cup.
Photo: Jason South
Others who will provide content include Britain's Ascot – which stages flat racing during the summer (including the Royal meeting in June) and jumps in the winter – and Goodwood, which stages numerous flat meetings throughout the year with the "Glorious Goodwood" festival in mid-summer its highlight.
The Breeders Cup in the US – which is a major two-day end-of-season festival pitting the best American horses against the top Europeans – is another signatory.
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VRC chair Amanda Elliott said the move into the digital arena "represents a key pillar of our strategic direction and planning at board level".
"We look forward to this alliance, not only showcasing horseracing, but further enhancing the reach, the engagement, and importantly the global brand of our sport," she said.
Neil Wilson, the VRC's CEO, said the club was a founding partner in the new operation.
"The VRC is the only club in the southern hemisphere involved in World Horse Racing, allowing us to elevate awareness of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and our other race days across the globe," he said.
"We lead Australia in our push into the global digital space, with partnerships with Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat providing a taste of the Melbourne Cup Carnival to people around
the world."
In 2016, the Melbourne Cup was the first live streaming deal for Twitter outside the United States, and last year the stream reached 1.6 million global total unique viewers, the club says.
"In 2017, the VRC again worked with Snapchat in developing Snapchat Our Stories, with the partnership expanding to two Our Stories on Melbourne Cup Day and one on AAMI Victoria Derby Day, and for the first time Facebook users could enjoy Flemington from afar with 360-degree cameras installed around the course providing live content.
“World Horse Racing is another layer to the VRCs media content strategy. (It) aims to maximise return on investment for our content and World Horse Racing will allow us to connect with sponsors worldwide and commercialise this on a global scale.”
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