ARC appoints PA for racing data
Wednesday 23 March 2016 15:49, UK
Arena Racing Company has signed a deal that will see the Press Association deliver data to high street and online bookmakers.
As ARC's official data partner, PA will collect and distribute race day data and validate starting prices from each of ARC's 16 racecourses. PA, on behalf of ARC, will deliver this data to Licenced Betting Offices and online betting sites.
The new partnership will come into effect from June 2016 when PA will begin to provide data from meetings in South Africa. From January 2017, PA will cover courses at Doncaster, Lingfield Park, Royal Windsor, Southwell, Wolverhampton and Worcester. The rest of ARC's racecourses will follow from January 2018.
Mark Kingston, director of media technology and production at ARC, said: "PA has great experience and a long-established role in collecting data on course.
"PA has been at the forefront of developments that have been taking place on UK racecourses to automate the collection of data. ARC and its customers will be beneficiaries of this development. Just as importantly, ARC will be in a position to ensure that the accuracy and integrity of this business critical data for the off-course betting industry is maintained.
"This agreement will allow ARC to contract with, and provide data direct to, LBO's and the rest of the betting industry. This data will be made available to bookmakers along with pictures from ARC's courses, as well as from South African race meetings"
Jim Donnelley, director of racing and betting at PA, said: "In addition to its heritage in collecting and validating starting prices at UK race courses, PA is internationally renowned for speed and accuracy.
"As such, we are perfectly placed to preserve the integrity of the business-critical data that ARC delivers to the off-course betting industry."
