R.I.P ID Books, Hello 21st Century

This week marks a sad week in greyhound racing (well, for those that are really that OTT about them), as the long time trusty servant to racing office's, the ID book, is taken out of the rules of racing. In it's place, the microchip technology that has worked so well for the past couple of years becomes the new rule, though markings of the dogs are still available. It might sound a bit like something of nothing, but this step (for greyhound racing as a whole), is pretty significant, as it see's a sport that, a lot of the times seems to struggle with embracing technology, making full use of a very powerful and up to date tool.

The use of the microchipping system, however, makes me wonder whether the sport is actually doing enough to modernise and embrace technology. The marking up procedure, and thus the posting of paperwork etc, is still in tact, meaning that there is still the long turn-around from markup to trial. Knowing a little bit aout how databases work, and with the development of digital photography, I do wonder why a new marking up procedure couldn't be looked into. The idea of markings of a dog should still be in use, however the capture of a photo would surely suffice, and in fact improve on a drawing and sketching? 

As some of you may know, I am on an IT degree, and have a pretty good mind when it comes to computers and that sort of thing. I honestly cannot fathom why, this day in age, a dog cannot be registered and ready to run, literally on the day. The mark up could take place in the form of a photo identification procedure, with the dogs details checked against the Irish/Stud book ID. From here, it's a case of data entry and registration confirmation and voila, the dog should be ready to race. Problems with paperwork could be dealt with there and then, thus saving owners and trainers time, effort and money. This system is relatively basic to set up, and wouldnt cost a great deal, saving money in the long run.

The issue, however, isn't just with this sort of procedure. The embracing technology issue is industry-wide. There are so many ways of reaching new audiences now, it's unreal. All it takes is a but of savvy and working out, and your away. This blog, for example, is completely free to run. Yes, it takes a bit of time to post up every now and again, however you are giving the audience (in this case you, the reader) anoer insight and something different to look at. I applaud trainers who take the initative to try these new things out. Twitter, for example, is a great (and yes, free!) tool to reach a new audience and publicise your product. Trainers are just starting to embrace this, and I've heard but nothing but good things, such as getting in new owners. The number one thing trainers (and companies in general) say to me is how they're struggling to find new people. Embracing these technologies is certainly a start, and I see no reason why we can't use these tools. We as a track have new people attending due to it, so it just shows it works!

The issue with embracing technology is that it does take time and effort to set up, and you do need it working properly and looking good. The other thing is that you need to WANT to use it. Modernisation is there to make things easier, alas go out there and use it!