IT'S been dubbed ''jockey-cam'' but in some critical circles the tag has been ''waste-of-time-cam.'' Jockey-cam is the brain-child of flamboyant jockey Shane Dye who mixes his riding career with co-hosting the prominent television racing show on Kerry Packer's Channel Nine network.
Dye has been trialling the use of a miniature camera - the size of a pen - attached to his helmet.
Last Saturday at Randwick, after approval from chief steward John Schreck, jockey-cam was launched to the public in two races, including the A$400,000 Group One Epsom Handicap.
Wayne Harris, riding Corndale, wore the camera and its transmitter - total weight about one kilogram - which beamed the picture to a helicopter hovering 1,600 feet above the track.
The pictures were enthralling, more so for the causal observer of racing than the hardened punter or enthusiast.
Unfortunately, overnight rain loosened the surface enough for there to be considerable kick back and as Corndale race at the rear of the field, it didn't take long for the lens to be covered in mud.