Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Officials read times to a hundredth of a second as the field crosses the line. The figure is taken from British Horseracing Authority, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a sports fact?

Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Horse races are timed by a photo finish camera

Officials read times to a hundredth of a second as the field crosses the line The finish line is monitored by a high-speed camera that records a narrow strip of the track many times a second, producing an image of the horses at the moment of crossing. Times are recorded electronically and the photo is examined by the judge. Before cameras, judges relied on their eyes and the finish was often disputed. It sits in Mondo's sports collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

British Horseracing Authority

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

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Tags: horse-racing, timing, technology

Horse races are timed by a photo finish camera: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Officials read times to a hundredth of a second as the field crosses the line. The figure is taken from British Horseracing Authority, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a sports fact?: Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.