There is nothing quite like witnessing a thrilling finish to one of the leading horse races in the world. The sport, particularly the leading meets, provides an atmosphere that few events can match for excitement and nervous energy.
The Grand National (sponsored by Randox Health, a company offering full health screening) captures the attention of the entirety of the United Kingdom with millions of eyes fixed on the outcome at Aintree. The National’s final furlong is one of the most anticipated moments of the calendar year. Legends can be made or broken down the stretch, with a place in immortality at stake for the winning horse, jockey, trainer and owner.
Horse and jockey carry the weight of expectations not only of their trainer and owners but also a lot of punters. The prominent figure of Tiger Roll etched his place in history by becoming the first horse to win the National in back-to-back years since the great Red Rum achieved the feat in 1974. Recreating those special moments at Aintree has been a challenge for producers of online video games, aiming to capitalise on the popularity of racing around the world.
There have been attempts made to break into console platforms. At The Races produced Gallop Racer, which enjoyed a period of success in the early 2000s on PlayStation 2. Users could select a horse of their choosing and race around tracks in the United States. The graphics were solid enough for the time, offering a television-like camera view of the action, allowing the user to control the horse and its pace over the flat track.
It was as close as horse racing has come to breaching the online gaming market on consoles, although it did not offer jump racing in the United Kingdom. Licensing was also an issue as the US Triple Crown races were not referred to by their official names. The games had a small niche following but were never popular enough to move into the mainstream and earn official licensing from the sport or sponsors. A rival came forward in the form of Breeders Cup’ World Championship. It attempted to bridge the gap, although even with all the racetracks in the States available it did not meet the standards of the gamers and online reviewers.
Japan has been a rare success story for online games in the real-player mould. The Winning Post has been produced for two decades now, branching across several consoles, including Sega, Nintendo and PlayStation, along with PC. It has been an isolated triumph for producers and has not made the move into the US or European markets.
However, horse racing style games have found a home on gaming websites in the mainstream, using the gambling factor as punters would in real life. Websites such as Buzz Bingo have tapped into the market by offering slot games curtailed towards the sport, building thematic styles around the Grand National and Royal Ascot. The gameplay is not reminiscent of the action on the track, but the aesthetic appeal of the gaming website goes to capture the feel of the racetrack. With the addition of sound effects, this attracts racing fans.
The authentic graphics in the bingo games go a long way towards making the feel of the race day leap out of the screen. Horse racing enthusiasts – typically traditionalists – appreciate these small touches around the game. It seems that (despite their far more basic operational premise), games such as bingo have taken more successful strides in developing games for a horse racing audience than videogames. There is, however, still work to be done to bring the magic of the track to the virtual world.
