Feel lucky, but can’t get to the races. Let the races come to you, over your WAP phone and PDA. That’s the message U.S. Off-Track wants to get out to horse-and dog-racing enthusiasts.

U.S. Off-track has partnerships with 16 greyhound, 17 thoroughbred, and nine harness racing tracks. After opening up an account with at least $50, avid track fans can check the latest racing statistics or then place a wager on any race taking place at one of the 42 participating tracks.

"Anyone in the world can use it to check results of certain parimutuel races and get odds and information about what’s out there in today’s racing information," U.S. Off-track’s treasurer David Tiano told MBizCentral.

Even non-account holders can check current odd and results on their lucky thoroughbred or greyhound, the company said.

The wireless application runs on an industry-standard platform developed by software developer Mobileum, Inc. that interfaces with U.S. Off-Track’s Amtote Spectrum totalisator system. Mobileum’s human factors team along with the Mobile Gaming Solutions Limited, in Dublin, Ireland, designed the user-friendly format. It was field tested in the U.S. and Europe prior to launch.

Licensed with the Oregon Racing Commission in April of 2000, U.S. Off-Track started taking bets over the phone via a call center and allowing bets via its Web site. Thus expanding its services into the wireless world appears to be a natural progression.

In recent months, WAP has come under criticism for catering predominately to the business customer. If U.S. Off-Track’s WAP service is any indication, WAP maybe moving into the mainstream. Of course, the more WAP service options there are, the more attractive they will become to both the carrier, as an additional revenue stream, and to the consumer, as a convenient means of making purchases or placing a bet on their lucky thoroughbred.

For more information: http://www.usofftrack.com/