Racecourses Repelling Use of Drones

Racecourses Repelling Use of Drones

After recent reports at some of the UK's major airports having to cancel flights due to drone sightings, it appears that racecourses up and down the country are taking no chances themselves, and calling for action against drones being flown over their tracks.

Obviously horses cannot fly so the racing can go ahead, but the main concern is that drones could be used to stream faster pictures to punters handing some an unfair advantage over others.

Track officials say the lightning-fast images provided by the drones in the air, are being bought by gamblers who bet mid-race.

The bird’s eye view is perfect for those sort of punters, who can therefore have an early sight of potentially race-changing moments. With the images a few seconds ahead of TV feeds, this can get them an edge, not just over the bookies, but fellow gamblers, who bet on the exchanges such as Betfair.

This breaks several rules in the Gambling Act's terms and conditions, with the likes of Leicester, Nottingham, Uttoxeter and Wolverhampton all having experienced drone sightings in recent weeks.

(Credit: The Mail) A spokesman for the Arena Racecourse Company (ARC) said: "The broadcast rights of our live action are a key part of our business, as with any sporting venue, so we consider this unauthorised filming and broadcast as theft.

"The use of drones for commercial purposes is rightly very heavily controlled by the Civil Aviation Authority and any unauthorised use in this instance potentially has further safety and regulatory implications.

"We appreciate the assistance of local authorities, but we know that these drones are generally being piloted from public rights of way outside of racecourse land, which means there is very little we can do to directly address the issue at present.

"We will, however, continue to explore every avenue possible with local police, councils and any neighbouring landowners to control the use of any unauthorised aircraft," he concluded.

There will sure to be more on this in the coming weeks.