BetBright reveal world’s first “robot jockey”

Bookmaker BetBright has unveiled a “robot jockey” ahead of Cheltenham festival.

It took a team of four scientists three months to finish the project.

Robot aficionado (and BetBright brand ambassador) Phil Tufnell said; “I saw this thing coming round the corner, sitting on the horse and it was kinda freaky.’

But not everyone is convinced;

Some betting company is trying to PR a tech story about the “world’s first robot jockey” ahead of Cheltenham. They’ve basically shoved a tin can on the back of a horse pic.twitter.com/f2StEwMTZ5

— James Temperton (@jtemperton) March 12, 2018

OK but why does the robot jockey need a helmet? pic.twitter.com/HNvLhF2rzk

— James Titcomb (@jamestitcomb) March 12, 2018

Not impressed by the design The Mirror commented; ‘it looks remarkably like the Tin Man.’

Meanwhile The Sun pondered; “Despite the riding hat perched on its head it’s hard to believe this R2D2 look-alike would ever be able to hold the reins – let alone control a thoroughbred at speed”.

Despite the Neigh-sayers (sorry!) this stunt landed a huge amount of print coverage this morning.

Visitors at the Cheltenham Festival will be able to see the robot this Friday, and while it will not be competing this year, BetBright believes it has the potential to go against human jockeys in 2025.

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