Are you anticipating the Kentucky Derby today? But you can’t make it to Louisville, and you sure can’t make it to Churchill Downs. Thanks to virtual reality, you can be closer to this historic horse race than ever.
Virtual reality company NextVR will be streaming the Kentucky Derby starting at 4pm. You can only get this through the NextVR app and Samsung Galaxy Headset. They will have VR cameras around the track, around owners’ suites, and in the paddock. In the paddock, horses prepare for the ‘fastest two minutes in sports history’. All one has to do is connect a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to a Gear VR headset, download the VR app, and turn to NBC, the network that’s broadcasting the Kentucky Derby this year. NBC has broadcast the Derby since 2001, and is expected to do so through 2025. Recently, sports and virtual reality have intertwined. NextVR has live streamed NBA and NHL games. It’s just too bad NextVR, nor Samsung Galaxy, can help you best pick who is going to win. They can’t help you make that perfect bet, either. You better rely on the odds and your own expertise for that. There are just some things virtual reality can’t do.
But with this Samsung Galaxy Headset hookup, you can be even closer to the action than even some people at Churchill downs will be. Sure, you won’t be mingling with the millionaires and celebrities, but you will be really up close and personal with the real stars: the 3-year-old horses. You’ll have to make your own mint julep and find your own fancy hats (you can find one at a thrift shop for under $10). But please don’t get too carried away. Just know that you’re still in your own home, in your own surroundings, not toasting mint juleps with an A-list star. Who is your money on this year?