IMMENSE GAIN FOR UAE DELEGATION AT 39TH ASIAN RACING CONFERENCE

A five person team attended the 39th Asian Racing Conference (ARC) at Melbourne in Australia recently, with the experience benefitting both seasoned professionals and those new to the sport.

The UAE delegation comprised Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) Studbook holder Safya Al Dhanhani. Head Steward Sam Shinsky, ERA Regulatory Veterinarian Dr Kieran Finn, Senior Veterinary Officer Dr David Craig, Trainee Steward Rashid Al Balushi The three-day conference hosted by Racing Victoria in Melbourne marked the first ARC since Cape Town in 2020, and featured a string of world class speakers and panellists, who offered valuable insights into the fast evolving world of racing.

Tthe seventh International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) was scheduled in conjunction with the conference and provided an onsite visit to a Thoroughbred aftercare facility as well as a traditional conference covering a wide variety of aftercare topics.

Numerous topics pertaining to the future of racing and the rapidly growing interest in virtual forms of the sport to keep the younger generation occupied were also discussed. Speaking during the conference, Shinsky gave a talk on the Weatherbys system that will be implemented by the ERA, who are looking to revolutionise their tech, digital and data capabilities by developing and deploying a world leading cloud platform to harness Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms.

Of the conference Shinsky said: “The Asian Racing Conference which comes together every two years (this one was delayed because of Covid) aims to evaluate the current state of racing, and see where we’re headed, and try to work together and collaborate on multiple issues.” Al Balushi added: “I had the chance to observe Australia stewards do their jobs during the Melbourne races on the second day.”

Al Dhanhani said: “I attended the meeting on stud books during the first day of the conference, where multiple problems were discussed, mainly the effect of Covid which decreased breeding and racing throughout the world. It was a very different and positive experience for me as a newcomer to the ERA.”