Hong Kong Jockey Club's 'Star Wars' timing is undergoing a final trial which will see it ready for the world in time for the International Races in December.
The Stride timing system has been on the list of coming attractions for racegoers now for over a year, and there were high hopes the system would be in place as long ago as the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup meeting last April. Jockey Club executive director of racing Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said delivery was now at hand.
'We had some holdups with the installation earlier in the year due to the Sars outbreak, but the installation is now complete,' said Engelbrecht-Bresges.
'Last week, during the initial Happy Valley trial, there was a software glitch and one area was not working properly but that has now been overcome. I am now expecting that Stride timing will be ready for the public for International day on December 14 at Sha Tin.'
Under the Stride system, a computer chip carried on each horse will allow triangulation - similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) - to mark to within a high degree of accuracy where any horse is at a given moment in a race and therefore turn out the most accurate timing data ever known in racing.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said the Jockey Club had always stressed the system would not be in use until officials were 100 per cent satisfied with it.
'The important thing is that it is accurate and reliable when we do begin Stride timing,' he said.
