Even though horse racing is one of the longest-running sports in the world, throughout its rich history the sport has made plenty of changes. Horse racing is also one of the most popular sports to bet on, and in fact, its popularity apart from the exciting race is because of betting.
With all the technological advancements that re-shaped horse racing into what the sport is today, it might be coming to an end due to the latest technological trend known as Virtual Horse Racing.
Thanks to all the technological advancements, horse racing is now more available to the wider public than ever. People can now watch races on their TVs and mobile phones from every part of the world and wager some money on a horse using online betting.
However, as technology advances, we are witnessing some major changes that might change the entire horse racing industry forever. This is why we decided to highlight some of the changes that are brought with new technology, and see how they will impact the real thing.
What is Virtual Horse Racing?
In order to understand the impact of Virtual Horse racing, we have to know what it actually is. In short, Virtual Horse racing is a computer-controlled software that runs constant simulations of an exact replica of real-life horse racing events, imitating the best racehorses of all time according to TwinSpires.com.
The closest thing to compare Virtual Horse Racing to is games, but the only difference is that you can bet on the horses that run in the simulation.
Due to the ultra-realistic graphics, Virtual Horse Racing is very similar to the real thing, and in a couple of years, we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference whether we are watching a real-life horse race or a computer simulation.
Virtual Horse Races also have live commentary, many betting options to choose from, and even race statistics that can help you identify the next winner.
How Does it Work?
Virtual Horse Racing is a computer-generated software that is based on an RNG (Random Number Generator), which is very similar to what online slots are using nowadays. In other words, digital horse races are pre-defined by a computer algorithm that chooses a random winner for each race.
Basically, the RNG ensures that the result is based on probabilities, but completely randomized, which means that there are no two races ever the same.
Unlike real-world horse racing events, where you have to wait for a couple of months just to see two minutes of racing, Virtual Horse racing runs on a loop, meaning that you can get in the action at all times. After each race, there is a break of 3-6 just to gather all the bets and to allow fans to browse through the data, and then we are on to the next race.
Does Virtual Horse Racing Pose a Threat to the Real Sport?
Even though we are talking about computer-generated software, you’ll be amazed at how much Virtual Sports have increased in popularity over the past couple of years. There are a couple of benefits like having constant action, many betting options, availability, and more, that make Virtual Horse Racing very attractive for the wider audience.
However, will we see a trend where many horse racing fans switch to Virtual Horse Racing?
Well, the only drawback that comes with Virtual Horse Racing is the lack of excitement and drama from real-life horse racing events. Even though a large part of the popularity of horse racing is down to betting, the sport still offers plenty of thrills, beauty, elegance, and excitement that cannot be replaced with a computer simulation.
This is why it is highly unlikely that Virtual Sport will be able to replace the real horse racing world, at least not in the near future. Virtual Horse Racing should be considered as an addition to real-world horse racing events and something to keep fans engaged until a real-world horse-racing event comes on. So, they can perfectly co-exist in the same world without any interference.
