RACE FINISHES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23205, 26 November 1938, Page 19

RACE FINISHES

CAMERA EYE PICTURES INVALUABLE CHECK GREAT HELP TO JUDGES POPULARITY IN AMERICA Favourable impressions of the "Eye in the Sky" camera used to aid the judge in close finishes in America are retained by the Cambridge sportsman, Mr. N. Banks, who recently returned from a trip to the United States and Canada. Mr. Banks attended 14 race meetings while lie was away and he was afforded every opportunity of witnessing the working of the apparatus. What impressed him more than anything was that the camera banishes all doubts in the minds of racegoers in America and is everywhere accepted as correct. One of the meetings which Mr. Banks attended was at Hamilton, Ontario, and he had the privilege of witnessing tho finish of a race from the "Eye in the Sky" box. Two photographs of tjio finish, which were handed to Mr. Banks threo minutes after the horses passed the post, are reproduced on this page and they are most interesting in view of the fact that the judge favoured tho horse near the rails, Beech View, as the winner, whereas the camera revealed that the horse on the outside, Bellegare, had won. What Photographs Reveal

The first photograph shows that the horse oil the outside has just reached the line and that the one near the rails is slightly behind. The second photograph proves still more clearly that the outside horse was the wftiner, as his nose is actually past the post, while the one on the rails is still a little short of the line. Although the judge favoured the horse near the rails, the final decision was not given until the photographs were developed, as a result of which the outside horse was placed first.

Nothing is left to chance in America if a finish is at all close and the judges immediately call for the camera to mako certain that the correct result is given. The photographs reproduced give an idea of how valuable an aid the apparatus is and it is not surprising that American racegoers are prepared to wait two minutes while the pictures are developed when a camera finish is called upon. , Operation of Machine The camera is housed in a dark room above the judge's bos. A wire is stretched from the box to the post. As the horses approach the post the camera, which is electrically operated, is set in motion. It takes photographs at the remarkable rate of 180 a second. The photographs are developed by a special process and handed to the judge in less than two minutes from the iinisb. Prints are posted up on the courses, so that patrons can see for themselves how the race was won.

The idea of installing the "Eye in the Sky" camera at Flemington was considered by the committee of the Victoria Racing Club, and deferred. The apparatus is very costly and possibly for that reason it may be some time before it is introduced in either Australia or New Zealand.