Singapore Racing for TVN and Tassie TOTE

Monday, 18 December 2006 00:00

Australian punters will see Singapore racing on TVN and be able to place their bets through TOTE Tasmania from January 5, 2007 in a major coup for the two Australian operators.

The Singapore Turf Club has joined forces with TVN, the dedicated thoroughbred racing channel in Australia, and TOTE Tasmania, in a three-year exclusive arrangement to bring Singapore racing into Australia.

Initially, only the Friday night meetings from Kranji racetrack would be televised live and open to betting. Saturday and Sunday afternoon racing would be phased in over a period from four to six months.

The president and chief executive of the STC, Mr Yu Pang Fey, said the approach from TVN and TOTE Tasmania last year coincided with the club’s growing ambition to internationalise its racing product.

“I am very excited by this opportunity to showcase Singapore racing in Australia and I firmly believe that it will quickly gain a strong following amongst racing enthusiasts and punters alike,” Mr Yu said.

“We have quite an Australian flavour here in Singapore. We have the ever-popular trainer John Meagher with us, as well as well-known Australian jockeys such as Aaron Spiteri, Luke Currie and Ronnie Stewart riding with us. Come January 07, we will also see Noel Callow as well as Australian-based “Joe” Fujii joining the ranks of jockeys here in Singapore. Australians will have no problems familiarising themselves with the Singapore racing scene”.

TOTE Tasmania chief executive officer Terry Clarke said the agreement further enhances the company as the most progressive totalisator in Australia.

“We have put a lot of time and energy into developing international business opportunities and this is one of the biggest wins we have been able to deliver for the company,” Mr Clarke said.

“TOTE Tasmania was the first TAB in Australia to implement the necessary technology to link into foreign operator’s pools, using the Inter Tote Systems Protocol (ITSP), originally developed in the United States.”

He said that TOTE Tasmania, which is currently offering South African racing, Dubai racing and now Singapore racing via ITSP, is looking to add further linked international product in the first half of 2007.

The STC considered it was important its racing product was promoted and showcased appropriately, and believed this could only be done on TVN.

TVN chief executive officer Peter Sweeney said the introduction of Singapore racing would complement TVN’s existing domestic and international racing coverage.

“Thoroughbred racing has a proud history in Singapore and they are very much part of the international racing circuit,” Mr Sweeney said.

“TVN is pleased to be in partnership with TOTE Tasmania for the introduction of the Singapore Turf Club’s racing product to Australia.”

The Singapore Turf Club, TVN and TOTE Tasmania started discussions on the collaborative project in August, 2005. However, the Singapore Turf Club did not have the necessary technology at the time to allow other TABs to link into its pool, nor for it to link into other totalisators’ pools.

Part of the arrangement between the parties has been for TOTE Tasmania to provide the technical advice and assistance to enable Singapore Turf Club to acquire the necessary technology.

Punters interested in betting on the Singapore racing will need to have a betting account with TOTE Tasmania, and can watch the racing live on TVN.

For more information on Singapore racing, visit www.turfclub.com.sg or for all the relevant local information including race times and dividends, visit either www.tvn.com.au or www.thetote.com.au.

The Singapore meetings will also be broadcast on TOTE Sport Radio. Punters can gain audio access by going to www.thetote.com.au and clicking the TOTE Sport Radio icon.