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Mar 18, 2025, 9:17 am424 pts
Special ContentIf ever a device has promised to live up to your wildest Star Wars-inspired childhood cyborg technology dreams, it is the Apple Vision Pro. These augmented reality goggles are designed to seamlessly integrate virtual experiences into the physical world.
Apple calls it "The ultimate theater, wherever you are."
It can also be used to create comprehensive workspaces in any room. Though cost prohibitive, this device could play a pivotal role in changing the way people experience horse race viewing.
Why do you need to spend thousands of dollars getting to the Kentucky Derby when the Apple Vision Pro is ready to give you a trackside experience from the comfort of your living room?
What is "augmented reality"?
AR-the AVP's specialty-adds digital enhancements to the real world. Pokemon Go was the first application to bring this technology to many people's attention. The game uses your phone camera to integrate real local scenery into the video game experience. Pan your phone around-well, whatever space you are in-and you will discover that you have been cohabiting with virtual Pokemon.
This differs slightly from "virtual reality," in which everything you can see is completely digital.
The AVP Potential
Imagine this. You place a bet on the Kentucky Derby. You've done your homework on this one. Not only did you read up on all of the twenty horses in the field, but you've even been watching races and reading horse racing magazines. Check out all the contenders: https://www.twinspires.com/kentuckyderby/contenders/
It's become a sort of hobby for you. You don't have "Fly to Louisville and sit in $2000 seats," sort of money, but you do have a good AR headset.
You put it on. Do a little app navigation. Several clicks later, your family room disappears. You are no longer in Golden, Colorada. You are at the Kentucky Derby with all of the beautiful people.
Immersive sports viewing entertainment options provide 360-degree views of the arena. These are facilitated by a bunch of cameras working in sequence to support an uninterrupted view of the action.
While these applications are still in the earliest stages of existence, they are already being designed with social features. Interact with people "around you," (i.e. other headset users) and possibly even play AR minigames related to the event.
Why This Matters For Horse Racing
The most obvious reason this technology could be important in the years to come is that it simply adds an extra layer of fun to the sports viewing experience. Horse racing is particularly optimal because it can be harder to attract new fans.
An MLB franchise will play 50+ home games a year. Most people pick their teams based on proximity to their home.
They can go watch the game-often at a very reasonable price-and follow their guys from home on road games. It's very easy to be a fan.
Horse racing is different. The average viewer is only really aware of the three Triple Crown Events each season.
Attending these races isn't like buying a $5 bleacher seat to support your favorite baseball team. The ticket alone will usually cost thousands of dollars, and that is before you factor in travel expenses.
AR goggles give you easier access to major races. They also have the potential to let fans discover the support at smaller contests throughout the year.
By providing people who are already curious about horse racing with a convenient way to view it, AR headsets may help grow the sport.
Are there problems with the Apple Vision Pro?
For one thing, fully "immersive," content is still just a hypothetical with the Apple Vision Pro. While there are VR headsets on the market that can "put you in the arena" this feature is not even close to fully matured on any device yet. With the AVP, it is, unfortunately, not even in its infancy.
In its current form, this headset is great for giving you an enormous, high-definition viewing experience but the "screen," on which you will watch the events is still exactly that.
Cost is another issue. The AVP currently retails at more than $3000. That's a lot for a technology that is still in its cradle years.
Right now, this device-and any VR/AR experience has exciting potential. It just hasn't fully developed into the experience many of us are looking for yet.
Eventually, new market entrants will drive the price down. And of course, the technology itself is improving every day. These things simply take time.
The AVP will most likely develop in cycles similar to cell phone releases. Most major manufacturers put out one new phone a year. That product will typically differ only slightly from the previous version of the device. However, those changes add up. Today's iPhone is very different from the version 2010 had to offer.
