Global Horse Racing Industry Gets Performance Data Boost
The global horse racing industry has received a major boost following a merger between two leading performance data organisations.
The move will have a significant impact on numerous racing jurisdictions including Australia and marks a significant step forward for the Sport of Kings.
Read on as we assess what the deal entails, before assessing some of the other top stories from the Australian sports business sector.
Total Performance Data and tripleSdata Merger: Pioneering Global Horse Racing Data Distribution
The merger between Total Performance Data (TPD) and tripleSdata (tSd) will create the world’s largest automated distributor of live horse racing performance data.
The amalgamation is a significant step forward in horse racing analytics and will impact racecourses, bookmakers, media and racing enthusiasts.
This new merged entity will provide live and post-race performance data from over 100 racecourses in 11 countries. It will create an expansive network that operates every day of the year.
Punters who wager on prestigious races such as the Melbourne Cup will have unrivalled access to live tracking data and be able to delve into the performance of the world’s top thoroughbreds.
The integration of TPD’s unique automated in-play odds has already been a game-changer for Australian betting apps, with the country now the busiest betting jurisdiction worldwide.
The merger will bring fresh perspectives in leadership to TDP as tSd’s founders, Carlos Santo and Sebastian Scholz, join the board to contribute to the day-to-day management of the new global team consisting of over 40 professionals.
Will Duff Gordon, TPD’s Chief Executive Officer, expressed his enthusiasm over the potential impact the union will have on the industry.
The merger will unlock unprecedented levels of investment and expertise for advancing horse racing through advanced data – the type or scale never seen before.
Football Australia Data Breach: A Cybersecurity Wake-Up Call
While there have been positive data-related developments in horse racing, Football Australia (FA) is facing one of its most vicious cybersecurity challenges.
A data breach detected by the Lithuanian group, Cybernews, exposed information and personal details of every Australian football fan and customer associated with the governing body.
The leaked information includes passports and player contracts and was identified through hard-coded keys in the HTML page of an FA website.
According to Cybernews, the breach encompasses 127 ‘buckets’ of FA data on Amazon Web Services and poses a serious threat of identity theft, fraud and blackmail.
The FA has not confirmed the breach, but ethical hacker Jamie O’Reilly independently verified it and emphasised its significance.
The breach stemmed from a developer leaving a crucial server reference accessible to the public. It has sparked conversations about improving security practices to safeguard sensitive information.
The FA is now under obligation to conduct a comprehensive data breach assessment based on privacy regulations.
Sports Entertainment Group’s Financial Manoeuvres: Balancing the Books in the Sports Industry
Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) is seeking to sell stakes in its business to address the organisation’s staggering $28.7 million debt.
The Craig Hutchison-owned firm is eager to reduce its debts before the looming repayment deadlines. SEG has already raised $1.5m by selling minority shares in its sports team division, including basketball team Perth Wildcats and the new Melbourne Mavericks netball team.
The company’s corporate filings have revealed they plan to raise more funds by selling more shares of their sporting team business. SEG’s market capitalisation on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) currently stands at $54.8m.
Hutchison is the company’s second-largest shareholder, Chief Executive Officer, managing director and leading on-air talent.
He has moved to alleviate the financial pressure on SEG by selling the group’s New Zealand digital and audio business to TAB NZ for $3m and is exploring other deals to bring down the debt facility.
Company auditors had already issued warnings regarding the survival of SEG if it fails to find significant cash injection. SEG continues to negotiate the extension of its repayment terms.
The new filings show SEG has $6.3m available for future operating activities and a net operating cash inflow of $2.6m in the quarter ending on December 31, 2023.
