Written by Bren O'Brien
Thoroughbred platform Breedr has taken its business into the digital horse racing space, establishing itself as a virtual bloodstock agent for virtual horse racing platform Zed.Run.
Zed.Run | Image courtesy of Zed.Run
Breedr, an Australian digital company which 18 months ago launched as a fully integrated, end-to-end stallion booking portal into the global thoroughbred industry, has identified an opportunity in the growing Zed.Run platform, and will aim to offer a 'reputable and secure pathway into the booming digital racing ecosystem'.
The new aspect of the Breedr business will see it assist in the sourcing, purchasing, racing and breeding of horses within the ‘play to earn’ virtual market of Zed.Run, utilising solutions it has already built for the real world for the virtual space.
“Breedr is all about bringing innovation to the thoroughbred industry for all to benefit and this expansion into the virtual racing world extends our digital footprint and capabilities,” Tom Seymour, Founder of Breedr, said.
Tom Seymour
“Breedr aims to provide a new audience with an easy and creditable way to create their own virtual racing stables and breeding barns. We have a deep passion for innovation, creativity and community and we are ready to grow our brand in the virtual world with a group of passionate and enthusiastic gamers.”
“Breedr aims to provide a new audience with an easy and creditable way to create their own virtual racing stables and breeding barns." - Tom Seymour
Zed.Run has sought to replicate and enhance the experience of thoroughbred breeding and ownership, using emerging technologies to create a virtual experience which features real-world prizemoney, and the ability to trade.
Seymour and his team have seen the opportunity to utilise their expertise to assist users to breed, race and trade their virtual horses, all while capitalising on the synergies between the two worlds by funnelling all the relevant data back onto the Breedr.horse platform.
“The goal is to offer the virtual breeders of tomorrow, access to the same digital platforms we offer the breeders of today. Imagine a single platform that can manage your broodmare band from both worlds on the one dashboard,” Seymour said.
“This could be the single largest opportunity for the global industry to secure its future growth and Breedr is determined that the industry doesn’t miss it.”
“This could be the single largest opportunity for the global industry to secure its future growth and Breedr is determined that the industry doesn’t miss it.” - Tom Seymour
Seymour does not see the Zed.Run platform as a threat to thoroughbred investment, but rather as a method of engaging more people in the real world thoroughbred industry.
“It is not so much about attracting 10 per cent of the breeding industry across into the virtual marketplace, the bigger picture lies in providing an avenue for 10 per cent of the crypto market across into the real world to experience the thrill of owning and breeding the real deal and getting these online racing fans onto our racecourses and into our sales auditoriums," he said.
Crowds gather at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
"It’s inevitable that one day they will be able to punt on racing in the virtual world, we need to expose our racing product and give them an option of punting their crypto fortunes back into our industry.”
"It’s inevitable that one day they will be able to punt on racing in the virtual world, we need to expose our racing product and give them an option of punting their crypto fortunes back into our industry.” - Tom Seymour
It's the latest fascinating development for Zed.Run, which was built out by Australian company virtual Human Studio, with the idea of linking the thoroughbred racing and ownership experience with the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
Horses exist as tradeable nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Polygon, the Ethereum sidechain, and compete against one another in virtual races.
Thousands of races are run each day on the platform, with monetization for users coming both through prizemoney and the ability to trade, sell and breed virtual horses.
Willowy, winner of the G1 ZED RUN Wakeful S.
In October, the Victoria Racing Club announced a partnership with Zed.Run, which looked to utilise the obvious connection between the virtual and real world racing experience.
Zed.Run also sponsored the feature fillies' race on VRC Derby Day, the G2 Wakeful S.
