New Racenet Site Update

Damon Robbins updates readers on the status of Racenet's new site and mobile apps.

On Monday we encountered some trouble at the barrier with the launch of our new Racenet platform and, on inspection, the vet decided the new website was unfit to race. This resulted in reverting to the old site.

Sometimes with first starters you go to the races extremely confident as they've trialled sensationally and worked the house down in the leadup to debut however, as often happens they encounter issues either at the barrier or in the run.

At Racenet we struck some problems with our first-starter which were totally unexpected and while the team were quick to attend the issues they were unable to get things under control in time, hence the decision was made to scratch so the least amount of users were impacted.

We made the decision to push the website launch back as we didn't want to impact on users in the lead up to the Golden Rose meeting at Rosehill on Saturday. In the meantime the team have been working diligently to not only get the site primed for its debut but also to allay any concerns raised by our users since the Beta site launch.

Design and build of the new site

As outlined in my previous correspondence with the new website we are not going to be able to please all of our 8m users as each of you utilise Racenet differently, however, we have tried to cater for everyone to the best of our ability. Without changes to the old Racenet platform we would be unable to launch our new mobile apps or products which will give our users more confidence when betting.

Take Racenet's founders as an example; Craig 'Clocker' Tompson is a desktop user and more considered when studying the form while Glenn 'Robbo' Robbins likes to bet while at the club with mates, so he uses the site mainly on his mobile seeking quick info. The wants and needs of even our founders are very different.

Not everyone embraces change and it affects everyone differently. What is most important is these changes are the work of the entire Racenet team, including the founders, our editorial team headed by Stephen Brassel, Clinton Payne, Paul Joice and the broader team. The racing pedigree of the team is second to none and we are confident in the changes, or we wouldn't have made them.

In developing the new platform, Racenet undertook many focus groups with our customers in both our city and Taren Point offices. The changes were then validated by thousands of users on the site through our surveys which pop-up on the website from time to time with 83% of respondents in our surveys stating they used Racenet at least once a day.

Reply to concerns of users

I would like to reply to a few of the new concerns people have raised:

• Re-ordering of the form. We had to put the most recent runs at the top, so we can add ten additional runs each time you click 'Display More Runs' at the bottom. This is the biggest change to the form and will take some time to get used to. However now you can filter & view every run of a horse's career.

• Dual acceptor notification, this was an oversight and will be fixed ASAP.

• Runner comments on the fields, this was an oversight and will be fixed ASAP.

• Different comments/tips on Beta and the new site. We have changed analysts on the new site which, in our extensive testing stages, has resulted in delivering more winners at a higher average price for a great ROI to our users. All tips are from the new analyst on both sites.

• Video replays of previous runs. Unfortunately the state bodies will not allow us to include the replays as they would like to keep this on their sites. Racenet's position is video replays should be available on any website as this ultimately leads to increased turnover. Providing the replays would give punters more confidence in their bets but, at this stage, the state bodies do not agree.

• News and tips comment indicators around the site are coming soon

• System builder, is used by less than 1,000 users. Due to the low usage, we have decided to enhance the Predictor tool on fields and this will be decommissioned.

Launching of the site

Yes we are still launching the new platform. We understand that our users want as much time as possible to get use to the new site. We plan to launch the platform early in the week, so you have as much time to get use to the changes before the weekend's Group races. But, not until the site performance is 100% right.

iPhone App - Get on early  

We now have an Apple iPhone app ready for Beta testing. Without launching the new platform we would not be able to launch our apps which will be available in the coming weeks.

If you have an iPhone, please email support@racenet.com.au and we can provide you with access to our Beta version, which is yet to hit the AppStore. You will be able to provide Racenet with feedback on how we can improve the apps prior to them launching to the public.

Bookmakers and TAB

There is a lot of commentary about Racenet, the corporates and the TAB. We can only supply Racenet free of charge due to the sponsorship of our supportive bookmaker partners and the TAB and UBet currently do not have any relationship with Racenet. Our onsite research found that 93% of Racenet's users have an online account with a bookie or TAB. The new platform has been built to quickly let our users know who is offering the best price, plus the ability to click through to the bookie.

Most importantly, our bookmaker partners have no involvement in our news service; this will always be 100% independent of any sponsorship agreements.

Feedback on the new site

Without feedback on the specific concerns of our users we will not be able to improve the new Racenet experience so we invite you to continually let us know your thoughts. If you have something you'd like added, or improved we will consider everything to make your Racenet experience better. I am always open to feedback and suggestions on how we can improve Racenet so feel free to contact me at - damonrobbins@racenet.com.au or contact support@racenet.com.au

Finally, as I have outlined in my article above, we service 8m users annually, and we are committed to serving every one of you to the best of our ability - after some time to adjust we know you'll love the new site, even the much loved and vocal of our critics, Greggy.

Thank you
Damon Robbins - CEO