Today’s Kentucky Derby will include virtual reality elements

Saturday is race day for the internationally famous Kentucky Derby, and this year the latest Virtual Reality technology is being introduced at the Churchill Downs track.

NBC Sports and NextVR have teamed up to boast that they will take suitably equipped VR fans so close to the action that they will feel they can touch the horses as they thunder round the track. Three races will be filmed in this inaugural exercise, culminating in the Derby itself.

To do this seven virtual reality cameras will be used – five cameras positioned trackside to capture an uninterrupted view of the race, including one adjacent to the owners’ suites, and two cameras in the paddock area to show the horses before parading to the starting gate.

The audio feed will include the race call from NBC’s Larry Collmus as well as commentary from NBC announcers Tom Hammond, Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss.

The VR presentation streamed over the internet will include specially created content from NBC Sports Group, including feature stories as well as statistics, race data and updated betting odds, all displayed on a virtual video screen during the presentation, mimicking the giant video display at Churchill Downs.

The VR feed is free here: http://www.nextvr.com/gearvr-live and Samsung Gear VR owners can download the NextVR app on any Gear VR headset compatible phones.

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