Article

Kiosks in the Winner's Circle

The horse racing and kiosk industries have become allies in recent years, with tracks utilizing kiosks for race replays, bettor-tracking programs, and as self-service wagering machines.

March 10, 2002

At Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., the slogan is "Racing as it was meant to be." And every April and October, that staid tradition comes alive, with million-dollar thoroughbreds being saddled under giant oak trees while adoring fans watch from behind nearby hedgerows.

There is a pastoral, romantic quality to the 65-year-old facility. The track resisted such modern amenities as a public address system until four years ago.

But the 19th century ran smack into the 21st century at Keeneland when six green and gold, angular kiosks awaited track fans for the first time in April, offering replays of past Keeneland races. For casual fans, it is a nice opportunity to watch the sport's best runners in action; it gave serious bettors a chance to evaluate racing form and look for that hidden gem of handicapping information that could prove valuable at the betting windows.

"We're expanding and finding a lot of different applications for kiosks," said Hardave Gill, president of Vancouver, British Columbia-based kiosk provider Post Time Technologies Inc. "We have found they're being accepted by a lot of racetrack patrons now."

The Sport of Kings is discovering the kiosk and its versatility. Self-service betting terminals have existed at racetracks since the mid-1990s. Now tracks and off-track betting outlets are discovering that kiosks can offer race replays. And track marketing departments, which have recently embraced the concept of rewards programs for high rollers, have discovered kiosks are an effective way of keeping members updated.

"We want to use them as more than a replay tool or a handicapping source," said G.D. Hieronymous, Keeneland director of broadcast services.

Rerun season

Post Time's emphasis is on race replay kiosks and streaming video of racing and sales over the Internet. Post TIme's kiosks are available at Keeneland, Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. (which is co-owned by Keeneland), Emerald Downs in Auburn, Wash., and Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona, Iowa.

The privately held company is a classic example of a good idea finding its proper application. Gill's original concept was to sell the race replays on CD-ROM. But he shifted his focus after attending the 1998 Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Ariz.

"The feedback (from the racing industry) was that the replays would be great if we could have them at the track," he said. "That's how the kiosk application took off."

Post Time installed its first kiosk in the summer of 1999 at Emerald Downs. The company originally worked with a local carpenter to develop hand-made kiosks, but later turned to a Canadian firm, Info Touch Technologies Corp., to manufacture its units.

It cost Post Time around $5,000 to produce each replay kiosk unit. The company leases its kiosks, preferably for 60 months, though the minimum is 36. Lease terms vary, depending on the number of kiosks leased, the tracks archived on the system, the number of races archived, and the length of the lease.

It also has a strategic alliance with racetrack ATM provider Track Power Inc. Track Power, which was launched in 1998 as a satellite racing channel, installed its first racetrack ATM at Elmira Raceway in Elmira, Ont., in August. Under this arrangement, Post Time provides and installs its machines, then recoups its investment off commissions from Track Power ATMs that are also installed.

Hieronymous said he plans to add another three or four kiosks at Keeneland. He envisions those kiosks becoming floaters, moving from track to track on the Kentucky circuit, which also includes Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky Downs in Franklin, and Turfway.

"It's a nice tool for the horsemen," he said. "We can add a kiosk in the racing secretary's office and they can go in and watch any race at any time."

"We'd like to use it as a tool for groups coming to Keeneland or somebody who comes to the track for the first time and might be intimidated by the Daily Racing Form," he added. "They can come in, get some basic handicapping information, maybe some food services information, maybe some bios on people at the track."

Post Time Technologies Inc. and Keeneland racecourse teamed to place six race-replay kiosks at the Lexington, Ky., track.

Hieronymous also sees the benefit of using kiosks to aid Keeneland's sales operation. Keeneland's annual sales of yearlings, two-year-old runners, and breeding stock are as famous in racing circles as its April and October race meets. For its two-year-old sales, the colts and fillies are taken to the track to work out in front of prospective buyers. Keeneland and Post Time have developed a program that would allow buyers to watch replays of the workouts on the kiosks.

"The traditional method has been for most two-year-old auction sites to have replays on their closed-circuit TV systems," he said. "You would see (horses) one through 10 on this TV, 11 through 20 on the next TV, and so on. You can't control the content. With the kiosk, if you are interested in (horse) 123, just type that number on the key pad and watch it as many times as you want."

Reaching your market

Player tracking and rewards programs are an essential part of marketing at Las Vegas casinos. Vegas marketers use these programs to identify heavy hitters and provide ample compensation for playing at their casinos, including free luxury suites and meals. Because the odds always favor the house, casinos eventually profit off these high rollers.

Racetracks have begun adopting similar player-tracking programs in recent years. Racetrack-management company Churchill Downs Inc. began unveiling its Twin Spires Club rewards program at its six tracks in 2000. The concept is simple. People sign up for the program and receive a card that can be swiped at betting terminals. As members wager, they accumulate points that can be cashed in for anything from a free racing program to a trip to Vegas.

Keeping track of points is where kiosks come in. Several tracks have launched kiosk programs that allow players to check their points by swiping their cards at the kiosk. The kiosks can also display how close players are to redeeming various rewards.

Churchill Downs has installed one kiosk at its Sports Spectrum simulcast wagering facility, located several miles from its flagship track. Mark Midland, Churchill Downs director of new product development, said the company is intrigued by kiosks, but is moving slowly to implement them.

"At Churchill and the rest of our facilities, we're looking to expand the use of kiosks for Twin Spires points, race results, entries, possibly other things," Midland said.

One Churchill-owned facility that has taken the plunge is Calder Race Course in Miami. This spring it converted 16 race replay machines operated by AmTote International Inc. into race replay-Twin Spires Club machines.

"We enabled the kiosks to check Twin Spires points," Midland said. "That's a nice function to add because they are scattered throughout the facility."

Jim Altrichter, president of Smart Button Associates Inc., a company that specializes in fan-tracking systems, including kiosks, said player-rewards kiosks serve both the track and the client.

"To us the kiosk is a way to automate the distribution of player rewards," Altrichter said. "It empowers the customer to get the rewards themselves and it drives a consistent marketing message from the track to the customer."

Smart Button's kiosks are outfitted with iMac machines from Elo TouchSystems Inc. First installed in 1999 at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta, one of the company's systems, including hardware and an enclosure, costs on average around $2,000, Altrichter said.

Generating revenue through the kiosks is still a nebulous concept for tracks, however. Because player reward programs are free to join, tracks expect the concept of free rewards to encourage bettors to make more wagers. Gill envisions marketing information being used to attract kiosk advertisers.

"You've got such defined demographics at the race tracks that you'll get good advertising revenue because (advertisers) want to reach that targeted audience," Gill said.

Do-it-yourself betting

Race-replays and bettor-tracking programs are obvious kiosk applications. Self-service betting is another challenge to kiosk developers.

Most North American tracks now feature self-service betting terminals. Bettors insert cash into the machines and place wagers. Winning tickets can be redeemed at the machines, and bettors can get cash back, make more bets, or receive a wagering voucher.

Three companies - Autotote Systems, United Tote, and AmTote International Inc. - supply most of the betting equipment in North America. All of them manufacture self-service terminals.

Of the three, Autotote has the largest clientele list. A division of Scientific Games Corp., Autotote's Web site touts 83 different clients in North America and the Caribbean - including thoroughbred, standardbred, and greyhound tracks, and jai alai frontons - for its betting and communications services.

Autotote features several self-service products. Its STAN line is designed to sit atop a table and features a 12.1-inch touchscreen and an optional voice prompter, while its PROBE XL series can be used for bettor self-service or for casino games.

While AmTote and United Tote have smaller shares of the market, both remain players in the industry. AmTote's services include self-service terminals and software programs for Internet and telephone wagering. One of United Tote's clients is Churchill Downs.

The future book

Kiosks are performing many tasks at the racetrack. But no one has developed an all-in-one machine capable of offering race replays, reward program information, and self-service betting.

Altrichter believes it should stay that way, noting that customer demands are different in each category.

"It doesn't take a lot of time (to access a rewards kiosk). Essentially the kiosk is transactional in nature; you walk up and get information," he said. "It's always there to get information on points and the goings on at tracks. Instant replay is different because you're going to want to spend some time there. Intrinsically, you're going to be there a minute, two minutes, three minutes. It's a longer period of time."

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]