Looking for a hub for horse racing coverage ahead of Saturday’s 149th running of the Belmont Stakes? The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has launched a mobile and OTT video streaming app called NYRA Now, and it’s meant to serve as a “one-stop shop” where fans can get all the content they’re looking for.
The app is available for iOS and Android as well as Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and Android TV.
Building off the older NYRA HD app, NYRA Now focuses more on the television experience. Within the app, users can choose from a variety of camera angles to view a race, including a head-on view and down the stretch. Live race calls will also be available in both English and Spanish.
Taking behind-the-scenes coverage to heart, the app will also give fans a saddling paddock camera with some feeds available 24 hours a day. This way anyone looking to place a bet can get a look at morning workouts using the trackside camera or check the weather and track conditions on race day.
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Another addition to the app is an Video On Demand area allowing users to watch races dating back to April 2016. Available On-Demand as well will be NYRA-produced content for its shows on FOX Sports 2 and MSG+.
For example, episodes of Talking Horses, hosted by Andy Serling, can be found, and played back, on the app. “So if you’re watching the show and we’ve had an interview with Todd Pletcher or Chad Brown that you want to go back and watch, it’ll be up on the app,” NYRA Senior Director of Television, Dan Silver, told The Blood-Horse. “If you’re not able to watch the live show for whatever reason, you can go on the app and see a lot of that content.”
The app also provides educational videos for beginners as well as the ability for NYRA Bets to be launched to allow for live wagers.
Said NYRA Chief Revenue Officer Dave O’Rourke in a statement, “What you’re seeing out there is that people want an à la carte experience. As we put this content out there, we monitor it. We actually continually refine it to figure out what actually works and what doesn’t work.”
It sounds as though NYRA will soon figure out if virtual reality works as according to The Blood-Horse, it’s looking into 360-degree tech through Google Cardboard to place fans at the center of the track.