Gravity Medias JockeyCam at Center of Melbourne Cup Carnival Busy Week of Horse Racing

It's been a big week in Australia horse racing as the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has been at the center of 30 hours of live TV coverage produced across four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and concluding tomorrow with the TAB Champions Stakes Day. Channel Nine is the broadcast partner and is working closely with Gravity Media who is providing unilateral support for the third straight year.

Kylie Rogers, CEO of the Victoria Racing Club, says the Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of Australia's most iconic sporting and cultural events, and delivering a broadcast that matches its significance is critical.

Gravity Media has deployed a JockeyCam for this week's massive slate of horse racing at the Victoria Racing Club. Gravity Media has been a trusted partner in bringing the Carnival to life for audiences worldwide, and together we have continued to evolve how fans experience our racing, both on course and at home, he says. We are also delighted to continue our partnership with Nine for a third year and can't wait for this year's Carnival to reach more Australians than ever before.

The coverage has come a long way since Media Puzzle won the Cup in 2002, and this year Gravity Media adds two new ways to keep the broadcast fresh and engaging for a new generation of fans: JockeyCam and Orbit Fusion. Marcus Doherty, Gravity Media Australia, account executive, media services and facilities, says one of the biggest challenges is the sheer scale and complexity of the production as it is one of the largest broadcast productions in Australia and among the biggest undertaken by Gravity Media's Australian team.

The number of cameras continues to grow, with more than 48 being deployed this year to capture not only the racing action, but also the hosting studios, Mounting Yard, starting gates and live interviews across the racecourse, says Doherty.

JockeyCam gives viewers a stabilized point-of-view shot from the jockey's perspective, putting them in the middle of the field at full gallop. Doherty says the JockeyCam system was developed in house, and the latest version offers greater stability and a better form factor which makes it easier to be worn by the jockey.

Another new addition is Orbit Fusion which delivers true super slow-motion from a compact wireless camera that can sit in places around the track where high-frame-rate systems were previously impractical or unsafe.

Traditionally, super slow-motion cameras have been limited to fixed, cabled positions requiring dedicated operators, says Doherty. Orbit Fusion overcomes these limitations by combining a miniature high-frame-rate camera capable of capturing up to 200 frames per second, Gravity Media's proprietary multi-channel RF transmission technology, precision remote pan-and-tilt control using CyanView, and the BR Remote Micro L head.

The new systems build on the direct partnership that Gravity Media and the VRC formed in 2024. It enables both teams to continue to develop the coverage together and means that Gravity Media can invest in the production year after year. The VRC maintains creative control and delivery of the broadcast, while Gravity Media takes responsibility for facilitating it end to end.

Doherty says that there are about 115 people involved in the production with around 70 supporting the VRC and the remainder working on Nine's broadcast. The production is 1080p HDR and aerial coverage is provided by two drones and a helicopter. For Nine Gravity Media is providing 12 cameras and its newest outside broadcast truck, UHD 11, supporting Nine's studio in its marquee within the Birdcage, Flemington's famous hospitality enclosure.

The level of race coverage remains consistent throughout the Carnival, with the same production setup maintained across all races, he says. Coordinating the productions for separate clients requires three outside broadcast trucks and careful management of resources to ensure seamless coverage across both broadcasts.

The highlight of the carnival is the Lexus Melbourne Cup, famously known as The Race That Stops the Nation. This year it took place on Tuesday as the seventh of 10 races scheduled for Lexus Melbourne Cup Day.

Last year's Carnival drew a total TV audience of 5.8m. Channel 9's Lexus Melbourne Cup coverage drew a total TV audience of 2,079,000, up 8.8% year on year. VRC's social channels drew 36 million video views, which is up 63%. The Carnival attendance of 286,746 was the biggest since 2018.

The host feed reaches audiences in Australia on Channel 9, 9Now, Sky Racing, Racing.com and vrc.com.au. Internationally, it's carried by Sky Sports Racing in the UK, Fox Sports in the US, CBC Gem and CBC Sports YouTube in Canada and TVNZ 1 in New Zealand. The VRC's International broadcast is distributed to more than 220 territories worldwide.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/11/05/gravity-medias-jockeycam-at-cen...
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