The consolidation of wagering service providers has resulted in Racing Victoria announcing enhancements to the methodology used to calculate the official starting price for a horse.
Commencing on Thursday, the Victorian Official Price (VOP) will be represented by the fourth price of a seven-price sample of corporate bookmakers.
To date the sixth price in a sample of 10 WSP’s was used to determine official betting fluctuations but with consolidation of wagering operators, this will now be reduced to seven.
The prices to be included in the sample will come from TAB, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, BetEasy, Bet365, TopSport and PointsBet.
RV chief executive Giles Thompson said the enhancements to the VOP would ensure the price communicated for each horse would be more relevant and more accurate for punters.
RV will also introduce Barrier Tech which will be used to advice in real time the loading of horses for a race.
To be initially trialled on city courses, Barrier Tech will be transmitted to on-course screens at race meetings across the country.
As punters scramble to place their last second bets, Barrier Tech will alert whether a horse has been loaded, whether a runner has been backed out and, or, is undergoing a veterinary examination.
