Horse racing has been going on for hundreds of years now. In that time, technology has revolutionized many areas of life, including how to get your racing results. Thankfully these days, racing fans don’t have the same barriers people used to. 

If you’re passionate about racing, finding out the result has always been the biggest part of the excitement. Unless you can be there to watch it, you want this information to be delivered to you as soon as possible.

Whether you’ve placed a bet or are just an interested observer, getting your racing results has never been easier. This has helped to shape the way people enjoy the sport. However, it wasn’t always as easy as checking a website.

The Early Days of Racing

Back when the mere thought of the internet and smartphones would have been mind blowing, getting your racing results required a lot of patience. Sometimes you wouldn’t have been able to find out until the day after.

Many people may have relied on newspapers to find out what happened in the previous day. You’d have to turn the pages until you could find the small print in the sports section. This would have been a thrill on its own.

In later years, you may have been able to tune into the radio to try and catch snippets on the evening news. Racegoers would, of course, get this information right away and race results may have also been spread by word of mouth.

Perhaps the most reliable and quickest source of information was the bookmaker. Betting shops would have pinned up slips or put up result boards. It was a time where the pace of information was much slower.

Moving into the Television Era

The arrival of televised sport transformed how sport was consumed. Throughout the 1960s, racing started to be shown on TV for the first time. You could now see the action unfold at the same time as everyone there.

This TV era of horse racing only started with the biggest races, with many people still needing to rely on the old methods to get the information they needed. As the years passed, more channels dedicated airtime to racing.

Of course, this information was only instant if you could sit in front of the TV when the race was on. Added to this, local results from smaller races were still hard to come by. Thankfully the 90s were able to bring in a completely different revolution.

The Internet Revolution

The rise of the internet completely reshaped the way we got information. Even those races that weren’t on TV could be found out almost instantly. Dedicated racing websites emerged and would post results after each event. You could even get expert betting tips and form guides.

As with TV, the breadth and depth of this information would only grow over time. Soon, you’d not only be able to follow local races but those happening around the world. Forums and online communities would then grow and gave people a public place to discuss horse racing.

The internet continued to evolve into what we know it as today. For many people, this still relied on being at home and dialling into your internet connection. Email newsletters and RSS feeds could help with getting information quickly, but there were still barriers to getting race results.

The Smartphone and the Rise of Mobile Apps

The smartphone changed everything. No longer did you had to scroll on hard to navigate web pages or wait for email alerts. All of a sudden, you could have the mini version of a polished website in the palm of your hands.

The internet helped you get race results much faster. Smartphones made results instantaneous, wherever you were. While apps didn’t revolutionize the speed at which you get race results, their emergence did make getting information even easier.

Depending on the platform, you can now even get customized alerts for your favourite horses, riders or events. And, of course, live streaming has meant you can now watch these races wherever you are.

The Future of Racing Results

Getting race results is as fast as it’s ever going to be. However, the information we get from these results may still evolve. You may soon be able to get an AI summary of a race you didn’t see, highlighting any key moments that may affect your future decision making.

Racing fans may soon be getting an even more tailored experience. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see wearable tech come into horse racing. This may give you deeper insights in the likes of stride patterns, fractional timing splits, and overall performance.

With developments in augmented reality, you may soon be able to virtually ride on your favourite horse and experience the result as if you were crossing the line yourself. For now, you have a wide range of wonderful websites and apps that mean you never need a delay in getting your race results.