Andrew Stuart (middle) receiving his Government innovation award

How a lifelong passion for horse racing led to the development of E-Trakka® by Andrew Stuart

In 1975 I took my passion for horses and began a lifelong career in the racehorse industry where I first worked as an apprentice jockey in Seymour, Victoria. I competed in 420 races for 55 winners over a period of five years. Being a tall jockey I was inevitably destined for a different career calling and so I transitioned into the role of racehorse trainer.

I have always strived for excellence and decided the best way to further my knowledge was to learn from the best in the business. In my late teens, I took initiative and wrote to the top 3 trainers in Australia; it was Bart Cummings team who responded to my correspondence and ultimately steered my early career trajectory. I went to work and earned Bart Cumming’s Foreman’s trust, three months later earning promotion to Assistant Foreman for “Cups King” Bart Cummings, where I received a rare opportunity to discover how and why this man was so successful in the horse racing industry.

I discovered first-hand that the Bart Cummings system was simply the most professional system of its time. No stone was left unturned in the pursuit to produce extremely fit, competitive racehorses. Through tireless endeavours for the competitive edge and by following in the Bart Cummings methodology of professionalism and thoroughness, I became one of the early trainers to use heart rate monitors in the late 80s and early 90s. I soon realised the huge potential that heart rate monitoring could provide in attaining that competitive edge in the racehorse industry and embraced being the trainer of the future. But I also realised that heart rate needed to be compared against other variables such as speed and workload to deliver more accurate information and the full picture of the horse’s health, fitness and potential. The idea of trainers being able to easily gather, store and visualise information to bridge the gap between traditional training methods and innovative technology advancements birthed what we now know today as the E-Trakka® XV4 fitness monitoring system.

My career took a new turn, I decided to sacrifice my goal of being a word-class trainer for the pursuit of a higher calling. I knew that my contribution to the racing industry would be greater by helping horse trainers use technology to become the trainers of the future. I decided to share the powerful knowledge I had learnt as a jockey and trainer, with the thoroughbred racing industry and I was developing the technology and tools to do this. In the late 2000’s I received award recognition as the inventor of E-Trakka® including in 2008 when I received a Government Award for Innovation. Being a horseman first, I can confidently share with all trainers the fact that I have never seen an E-Trakka® reading that, as a horseman, did not reveal some form of valuable knowledge about an equine athlete, beyond that of traditional training methods alone.

E-Trakka® is the competitive edge that all successful trainers are seeking.

It empowers equine trainers, owners and veterinarians to learn more about the fitness of your horses and so therefore empowers more informed and knowledgeable decision making. State of the art technology has been adopted into thoroughbred racing by industry leading trainers, and you too can invest in gaining a competitive edge in your business using the E-Trakka® XV4 fitness monitoring system.

I always say in racehorse training you get five points for a good decision and lose ten for a bad one. E-Trakka® XV4 reduces the error in training and enhances good decision making as a trainer. E-Trakka® XV4 does not replace the trainer, it never will; the E-Trakka® XV4 system simply provides a powerful training tool delivering more information to benefit your knowledge and training decisions. In the end this means more winners for YOU and greater welfare for your horses.