The Rise of Virtual Horse Racing: NFTs, Digital Ownership, and the Future of Training

Horse racing has always evolved with technology, and the age-old sport is going to continue long into the future by embracing other upgrades. The sport has already been digitalised in a variety of ways, and there have been some incredible recent updates to the virtual horse racing market.

Now, thanks to the emergence of NFTs and artificial intelligence, it’s possible to own and train horses in realistic equestrian simulations. Traditional horse trainers could look to adapt to this scenario and branch out their operations in the digital realm.

The Emergence of NFT Horses and Digital Ownership

Bookmakers and online sportsbooks have had virtual horse racing for years, with bettors able to stake on the events just as they would on the real sport. Virtual horse racing results are usually dependent on random number generators, so there’s less skill involved. Bettors simply stake on the horses at random, rather than research various factors such as form and fitness.

Bettors enjoy staking on virtual horse races as they can go for all the same types of bets as well. They can sometimes put on a placepot for instance and try to win on a variety of races. What is a placepot, you may be wondering. That’s when bettors have to choose horses to place in the first six races of a meeting.

Despite the realism and the availability of bets, virtual horse racing needs additional factors to align with the real world sport. This is where NFTs have changed the game. In Zed Run, for instance, users can own NFT horses and breed them to create new virtual racehorses. These can then compete online to win races and prize pools. As offerings like this develop, they could lead to brand-new betting opportunities.

Virtual Training: A New Frontier

The most intriguing aspect of this new invention for real-world trainers is the concept of being able to train virtual horses using many of the same techniques. Developers are striving for ultimate realism, so experts in the field may find that their skills are transferrable.

In the virtual horse racing simulations that already exist, training is being done through data-driven algorithms that optimise a horse’s performance based on its genetic attributes and racing history. You have a lot of control over what you can do with your horses, such as race them in different environments and conditions.

In the future, developers may bring an even greater number of real world features to their digital designs. To up the realism levels, this could involve adding extra facets about horse physiology and behaviour. People with experience in the real-world sport might be able to bring a unique perspective to breeding strategies in the digital realm that others may not have considered.

Virtual horse racing is on the rise, and it’s likely to get bigger and better over the next few years. While the realism isn’t quite there yet, it’s going to improve over time. Real world horse trainers may find that their skills can be adapted to the digital world.