Equibase Company LLC, formed to provide the Thoroughbred racetracks of North America with a uniform, industry-owned database of racing information, began full-scale operations on January 1, 1991. This goal was achieved in 1998 when Equibase became the sole data collection agency and provider of racing data to the Daily Racing Form.

Through a network of chartcallers, the Company collects past performance information from all Thoroughbred tracks in North America. Its state-of-the-art database in Lexington, Ky. processes, stores and makes available for retrieval over six million race starts containing well over a half-billion pieces of information. Equibase also provides complete access to American Quarter Horse information, in cooperation with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA).

The Management Committee, organized to direct the company's activities, consists of industry leaders representing both the racing and breeding industries.

In real terms, Thoroughbred racing is Equibase Company's sole shareholder. Since repaying all start-up costs in 1997, all profits from Equibase activities have been shared among the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and its limited partner race tracks (66%) and The Jockey Club (33%) in the form of dividends. In 2008, Equibase distributed dividends of $3.6 million to its partners.

The company's growth fueled an information revolution that has continued to this day. Tracks used their new access to Equibase's historical racing records to develop new formats for program presentation and introduce new distribution networks for their daily programs.

By the end of 1994, the Company's unique and comprehensive simulcast information service, without which many tracks would be unable to provide simulcasts, had more than doubled and has been a major contributing factor to the success of simulcasting in boosting pari-mutuel handle nationwide. The launch of its own web server in 1995 gave Equibase a new avenue to serve the burgeoning simulcast needs of the tracks and wagering outlets (which now number over 1,400) using Equibase program information.

Innovations in this area have included an Internet File Delivery system which allows tracks, simulcast outlets and value-added resellers to download Equibase entry, result and workout files via the Internet according to individual production schedules and at a speed not possible utilizing phone lines, a modem and communication software.

Equibase is also using the Internet to provide information and handicapping products to current and potential fans alike. Since re-launching equibase.com with full e-commerce capabilities in 1999, the company has emerged as a leading provider of value-added information and services to the electronic and interactive marketplace. The site offers a complete line of past performance and handicapping products for handicappers of including full past performance race programs, video race replays and more.

Among the many other offerings at equibase.com are free entries, results and workouts for all North American Thoroughbred tracks; a streaming Results Ticker™ that provides up-to-the-minute scrolling results; a daily listing of carryover pools; and the Equibase Virtual Stable® which delivers near real-time entry, result and workout notifications for Thoroughbreds and American Quarter Horses that users want to monitor.

Delivery of near real-time information was made possible through the eBase® field collection system used by Equibase chartcallers to input race result and workout information directly into the Equibase database over the Internet.

Equibase serves as the official supplier of racing information to a number of organizations and web sites and also works with the leading advance deposit wagering services to enhance their ability to provide a comprehensive array of racing information to their customers. Enhancing Equibase's ability to serve this nascent market was the July 2000 acquisition of TrackMaster, a premier provider of electronic handicapping information to racing fans and customers of the interactive wagering providers through its TrackMaster product line. TrackMaster is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equibase and maintains a web site at www.trackmaster.com.

Operations

To meet the data needs of the industry, Equibase employs a full-time staff of approximately 45 people; a number of part-time employees; approximately 90 chartcallers across North America; and professional resources from The Jockey Club Technology Services development staff. Customer support is available around the clock, while data gathering and dissemination operates 17 hours per day, seven days per week.

Each response to a track's information request contains over 75,000 data elements, with responses to simulcast sites often comprising over one million data elements. This represents annual total traffic of more than 10 billion pieces of information. Despite the volume, information requests are answered within 10 minutes in order to meet the tight production timetable for printing programs.