A Kildare-based tech start-up is aiming to revolutionise the multi-billion euro horse racing industry with its new technology.
Founded by Trinity College Dublin alumni Pierce Dargan and Simon Hillary, Equine MediRecord sells and maintains a mobile application and website to allow proper, timely recording of the many medicines and vaccinations that are routinely administered for thoroughbreds.
Existing medicines registers, which must be kept up to date for each and every racehorse under a trainer’s care, are physical books that require trainers and vets to input data by hand on a day-by-day basis. But these books are easily misplaced or damaged, and, because racehorses and the many people that manage them travel frequently, the process can be time-consuming and laborious. Additionally, different racing jurisdictions across the globe have different rules regarding the medications that are permitted, but there is no central database or system to easily check specific regulations.
Equine MediRecord solves these problems as records can be updated easily and securely in real time as medicines and vaccinations are administered. It is also the first system to be deemed an acceptable alternative to the current Medicines Register system by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.
The project was initially nurtured by Trinity College Dublin’s business incubator programme, LaunchBox, and has been supported from the beginning by a number of trainers and vets who have helped the company develop a very user-friendly system.
Pierce Dargan, CEO of Equine MediRecord, said: “Our system has been well received and is already in use by trainers and vets, and it has been deemed an acceptable alternative by racing regulators. It is easy to use and keep up to date, provides vital information to trainers, and allows technology to assist in horse welfare.”
Equine MediRecord has already won a number of awards and competitions since the start-up graduated from LaunchBox, including two recent successes at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association Expo.
For more information about Equine MediRecord visit www.equinemedirecord.com.
Pictured above: Simon Hillary and Pierce Dargan, co-founders of of Equine MediRecord
