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First of all let me admit I'm a fan of using more technology in racing. I've been learning to use CJ's video techniques on many races and I have to say the accuracy is highly overstated. For verifying final times, yes, good. But the internal fractions are tough. The angles and which the horses pass the various poles is extremely challenging and the presence of large screens and trees only complicates things further. I will say my in trip handicapping game has improved a lot...but I digress.
It's really curious how Randy Moss has embarked on a Trumpian-level Tweetstorm against GPS timing (or Equibase, it's clear he's no fan).
Randy's pecking order is laughable. I challenge anyone to tell me where to manually start timing for 1M at LRL. Actually most chute starts are difficult but this one is extremely tricky.
Here's a screenshot of the start as the horses leave the gate. That pole to the far right is not the 1M marker, it's holding up the fence behind the gate. And the camera is over 1/4 mile away. That picture is extremely compressed.
The second picture is the first in the video feed showing the pan view. Can you tell me - are they past the 1M marker pole? How many feet out of the gate?
The marker is not in any frame of the video. Run-up is stated at 20ft. What do you do? One jump out of the gate? Two? Very scientific.
I know people who time workouts, and some of them have worked as backup timers. They all will admit to making guesses at these extreme angles. Turf chute starts are also problematic. They've tried to show me how to do this. It's very hard.
Those guys and gals are amazingly good at what they do but none of them would ever claim accuracy to the 1/10th all the time.
I'm only guessing that Trakus and Gmax have an imaginary "start line", with GPS for sure it should be easy to know exactly where that line should be drawn. I don't imagine they guess. Starting the time too early will result in a slower final time, starting too late will result in a faster one.
So someone please explain to me how hand/video timing is better in this case? Moss is making a blanket statement that GPS doesn't work. Maybe he means the Gmax system is flawed, yet in today's statement from Del Mar (quoting from the Paulick Report):
"The times produced by the Equibase GPS System for dirt races have proven to be highly accurate and will continue to be provided"
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