Weber Downs utilized the Lip Chip LLC Hooflink System during opening weekend of racing on April 6-7.

© Lip Chip LLC

OGDEN, UT–APRIL 18, 2024–As Quarter Horse racing transitions to identification using low frequency microchips, track officials are working to find a solution to keeping the paddock effi-cient and accurate for their 2024 racing seasons.

Weber Downs of Ogden, Utah asked Lip Chip LLC for assistance in their paddock using their advanced HoofLink System, which combines advanced Bluetooth microchip scanners and software, for identifying horses in their paddock.

The track utilized the system for the first time during the opening week of racing, April 6-7, 2024. Angi Kellett of Weber Downs commented on the use of the software.

"A big shout out to Lip Chip for coming out to the Utah races and setting us up with their race paddock app! They assisted our identifier with nearly 50 two-year olds that ran on Saturday with the new AQHA mandated chips!" said Kellett.

"This is the fastest and smoothest our paddock and races have ever ran! Their crew was professional, friendly and very efficient! We received many compliments from our horsemen. Thank you, Lip Chip!" said Kellett.

Tom Close, President of UQHRA and Savanah Canales of the Weber Downs racing office were also instrumental in the successful roll out. The Lip Chip team used the data Weber Downs had purchased and printed from Incompass Solutions' Track Manager system to input into the HoofLink System.

"We would like to thank Weber Downs and the Utah Quarter Horse Racing Association for all of their support in assisting with the paddock application," said CEO of Lip Chip LLC, Brad Bolen.

For a detailed description of how the Lip Chip Hoof Link System and QH Chip both work CLICK HERE. © Lip Chip LLC

Not to be confused with AQHA's QH Chip application, which is used exclusively by AQHA identifiers for racehorse verification as a replacement for lip tattoo verification, the HoofLink System was built for horsemen and equine venues.

"Since we had already built an app for equine venue entry, we decided using our technology for the paddock would be a great fit," said Bolen.

"Currently, we are in the process of building paddock apps for numerous racetracks. We ran the paddock application for the All American races at Ruidoso Downs last September, and also helped with some biosecurity information and location tracking for the qualifiers. We were able to feed data to track management, track veterinarians, commission veterinarians, attending veterinarians and regulatory bodies. This process was all done with guarded permissions that could only be seen by authorized personnel," said Bolen.

The HoofLink System uses a simple ISO compliant low frequency thermal microchip to unlock the identification of each horse, which is the same microchip required for all Quarter Horse racehorses not tattooed before December 31, 2023. This software includes ownership information, health documents, and at least 4 photos of each horse.

HoofLink System users can scan their horses to take daily temperatures of their horses, no thermometer required. The software then analyzes the temperature trends to alert the user if their horse has a spike or drop in temperature so they can seek veterinary care. Users can also benefit from storing their health documents like coggins, piroplasmosis, and breeding certificates all in their phone in their horse's profile, which can be easily accessed from a smart device.

The HoofLink System also allows for users to track their horse's location when they are scanned, which makes checking in and out of equine venues a breeze. Racehorse users can also input daily works by scanning the horse and timing the work straight from a smart device. All data is stored securely in the HoofLink System database.

Lip Chip LLC is an official sponsor of microchip technology for AQHA racing, and also provides microchip scanners for AQHA identifiers to use in conjunction with AQHA QH Chip application. Be sure to check out the above table as a comparison of the two different software platforms.

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