A ringer is a substitute horse that looks just like the legitimate entrant in
a race. Gamblers who know that the favourite has been replaced by a hopeless
ringer can make a healthy profit.
To help the long arm of the law detect ringers, British Telecom’s research
centre at Martlesham, near Ipswich, has filed a string of international patents
(WO 97/46978-80). BT’s system uses images of the iris of the eye, which is
unique to individual horses—or people. The iris pattern is digitally
mapped, encrypted and stored in a database.
To prove a horse’s identity, the racing stewards illuminate the iris with
infrared and check the pattern against the database. The same system can also be
used to check people entering a building.
