Having upgraded the satellite infrastructure, Caymanas Park is now transmitting its local horse racing distribution signal to the rest of the world in high definition — a system rated as one of the best on the globe.

Previously, Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), the promoters of horse racing in Jamaica, transmitted its signal in standard definition, which was often criticised as very poor by punters across the country.

It is understood that SVREL now stands to earn additional millions of dollars in revenue from the upgrading of its satellite signal. However, Christopher Wills, acting general manager of SVREL, was not able to put a figure to the potential earning from the strategic upgrade.

The upgrade of the satellite signal was done by Robert Communications Network (RCN) and it came into effect in December of last year.

“Caymanas has partnered with Roberts Communications Network since its inception in the early 90s. RCN is the major satellite distributor for racetrack signals globally. We are very happy to have continued this relationship when we took over the operations in 2017. We receive all our content through RCN, and they distribute our signal worldwide,” he said.

“In keeping with the company’s objective to grow digitallly, we have now upgraded our infrastructure to deliver live and simulcast races in high definition to the off-track betting network MBet, which is our mobile betting platform, along with the multiple advanced deposit wagering platforms that receive our content,” he said.

Wills said the upgrading of its digital satellite signal to high definition has triggered positive responses from people across the globe.

“We started this initiative in December 2022, and the feedback has been great. Our website, YouTube channel, and all other sources from which we review our analytics have been trending upwards, confirming the appreciation of the patrons with respect to the quality of the signal,” he noted.

Don Silver, director of sales at RCN, told the Jamaica Observer that his company is uncompromising in quality delivery of its products and services, and notes that Caymanas Park is a beneficiary of this high standard.

“RCN prides itself on the quality of the signal that we deliver, and so we have satellite dishes here and we take the Caymanas video from the satellite dishes and we recently upgrade everything to HD [high definition],” Silver said.

“We take that HD video and we deliver it via our dish network in North America to about 700 racetracks and OTBs [off-track betting] and also to about 20 countries in South America and Caribbean and Central America on HD.

“We also make the video available on our streaming platform, so if you are betting online in North America or in places around the world, we can deliver HD videos of Caymanas to all those locations. The Caymanas video signal is on par or if not better than some of the big racetrack jurisdictions in the United States,” he said.

RCN, which operates out of the United States, also provides satellite services to several racetracks across the region, along with North, South, and Central America.

Silver, who was recently in the island for a visit of the Caymanas Park facility, shared that he was very impressed with the upkeep of the racetrack.

“So far it has been great because one of the things that we love about Caymanas is that Caymanas put a lot of work and resources into the production quality of their video feed, and so people like to bet on the racetrack because the videos are very good and graphic presentation is also very good.

“The racetrack here at Caymanas is beautifully kept because I was commenting on how beautiful the paddock is because the paddock here is nicer than some of the paddocks in North America, and the infield with the beautiful flowers and trees is very nice,” Silver stated.