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Reprinted with permission of Thoroughbred Times 

Adirondack Life named “Magazine of the Year” at the International Regional Magazine Association Conference first contacted JonesCAM in August during its JockeyCAM product development at Saratoga Raceway. The 40-plus-year-old magazine, based in Jay, New York, won 13 other awards: seven gold, three silver, two bronze and one award of merit and JonesCAM couldn’t be prouder being recognized by this prestigious, award winning magazine.

Having just finished working with top jockey’s Johnny Velazquez and Javier Castellano on the Saratoga thoroughbred tracks added to the excitement JonesCAM was experiencing as the article was being discussed. Knowing the article was scheduled to be released months later, when skiers, boarders and snowmobile riders/racers would be using the device around the world took JonesCAM’s Founder back 17 years earlier when JonesCAM first started, on the slopes of the Adirondack Mountain.

Back then JonesCAM envisioned user created and shared POV videos and their uses as seen today on TV, in movies and sporting events worldwide would be welcomed by all. From AMA SportBike racers like PJ Jacobsen to Monster Trucks drivers like Dennis Anderson to ISOC Ski Doo racer Robbie Malinowski and Gold Medal Olympic Champion bobsled driver Steve Holcomb have used the JonesCAM. But you don’t have to be a competitor to use this tiny HD recorder as so many hunters, fisherman and other outdoor sports enthusiast have discovered. Because the camera is so small, it can be worn on a baseball cap or helmet to record family outing, kids school sports and even whitewater and snorkeling adventures because it’s also waterproof. JonesCAM $189.00 products are now available at many motor and recreational sports dealers or on the web at www.JonesCAM.tv . Users having “Captured the Experience” videos are also found here: http://vimeo.com/user1924362/videos

Brian K

Nathan V Greenman

Jones is the owner of Fort Edward-based JonesCAM and the creative mind behind the JockeyCAM, a tiny, high-tech technology that captures horse racing from a jockey’s point of view.

The micro-camera helps Thoroughbred trainers and jockeys perfect their stride, and Jones is confident it will double as an attraction for new fans to the sport and a moneymaker for the industry.

Jones is not the first to introduce the helmet camera, but his high-definition device is the smallest on the market. At 3-ounces, this micro-cam is no bigger than a lipstick; it is easily Velcroed to a jockey’s helmet, and used to record a bird’s-eye view of their warm-ups and races.

Jones, a retired ski coach with an Olympic track record, began making micro-cams 15 years ago for athletic training purposes. It wasn’t until 2005 that he applied the concept to horseracing, a sport for which the micro-cams act as not only an excellent training tool but also bring something new and stimulating to the industry.

This summer, after six years of research and modifications, Jones revealed his JonesCAM HD JockeyCAM, to top trainers and jockeys, who have already put it to use at the Oklahoma Track. He’s currently in discussions with representatives from five American race courses that are interested in filming live races on their tracks.

For trainers, the JockeyCAM is invaluable. They can still view performances from the rail, and then watch the same run from the jockey’s perspective in HD. That POV footage offers a unique opportunity for analysis, especially when coupled with traditional video.

Click here to see Javier’s Video

“You can see things you can’t see from binoculars; you can hear the horse breathe; you can tell how he handles the rail or other horses – was he aggressive, did he drift?” Jones said.

Prominent trainer George Weaver said the POV footage is also an excellent tool for owners, who sometimes cheer for their Thoroughbreds from afar.

“Owners put up a lot of money,” he explained. “It’s a different perspective; they get to see and feel [their horse] train from a bird’s-eye view.”

Weaver said the whole game is about excitement; that in his over 20 years of horse racing involvement, he never thought this type of technology would be available.

“But, I’m glad it is,” he said.

Like Weaver, Trainer Gary Contessa of Gary Contessa Racing sees a great benefit to using the POV footage.
He has already used Jones’s camera during a dozen or so workouts in Saratoga Springs.

“Why? I use them because it makes sense,” he said. “It’s a great training tool; I would like to use it every day.”
At this point, the cameras are not approved for race use in New York, which is unfortunate for Contessa, who said the technology is a great way to see a horse in action, but would be even “better in race mode” – and not only to the athlete’s benefit.

Jones proposes integrating footage into the action at the race course, via onsite screens and streaming videos that can be easily accessed through smartphones.

“I think the public would love it,” he said. “The only way of explaining it is NASCAR. Look at what cockpit cams have done – a quarter of a million people logged on across the world for the Indy 500. Horse racing needs to come up to speed.”
Picture people all over the world watching races from two angles, the jockey’s perspective and regular race footage: “This could open the game to a new group of thrill-seekers, to people who don’t want to go to the track,” Contessa said.

Current top jockey and Jockey Guild President John Velazquez and racing hall-of-famer Angel Cordero, both pointed to the technology’s value for spectators.

Velazquez said POV footage “is the way to go” – “It will impact the sport. People will see the ins and outs; how close we get how fast [we go].”

From Cordero’s perspective as a retired athlete who has witnessed a half-century’s worth of Thoroughbred industry ups and downs, the cameras are a logical next stop.

In his last 10 years watching football and other sports on television, Cordero said he’s noticed an increasing use of video
technology.

“All the other sports are moving forward with it, so I don’t see the reason why our sport isn’t,” he said. “I have tested it before myself, the majority of riders I have talked to agree with it; think it’s a great idea; it could attract a new crowd.”
For Jones, the potential to reach new audiences and attract more fans is the most exciting feature of the JockeyCAM, and it’s exactly what the industry needs.

He explained that industry stats point to an older population of fans, and a younger generation that isn’t “filling the void.”
“Something has to be done to keep this business alive,” Jones said.

For more information about JonesCAM’s HD JockeyCAM, visit www.JonesCAM.tv

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A new technology may revolutionize the way we watch horse racing.

A Hudson Falls man has worked six years to create a high definition camera small enough for jockeys to wear during a race.

A thoroughbred race horse accelerates at 45 miles per hour in just four seconds. This is something the camera’s creator Mike Jones, nicknamed “Jonesy” has wanted to show people for a long time.

“Six years, I’ve been working towards this,” Jonesy said.

Just this year, new technology has allowed them to make a smaller wireless video camera, weighing only 3 oz. The format of this specific camera is high definition, 720p and it produces quicktime or MOV files. The video is locally recorded to a class 10
highspeed micro sd card.

Johnny Velazquez is one of the few jockeys who’ve tried out this new high definition helment camera that lets fans see the race from the same view he does.

“I think fans we’ll be really surprised by the speed,” Velazquez said.

President and CEO of NYRA Charlie Hayward says NYRA plans to approve this camera, but he says it’s not likely to happend during this year’s 40-day meet at Saratoga.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Think leaning on the rail at Saratoga Race Course is the closest you can get to the action this summer?

Michael Jones thinks you are wrong.

And he’s pushing hard to get you closer.

Jones is the President/CEO of a Fort Edward based company, Jones CAM Micro-Video, that specializes in small cameras. At the Oklahoma training track and during the morning hours of training on the main track, Jones attaches his small cameras to jockeys helmets to provide high quality point-of-view video. For now, the cameras are only used during training as NYRA has not approved them for actual racing.

Jones started his involvement with small cameras for sports when he was a professional ski instructor. He needed something where he could watch the racer with his eyes and still record video for later.

“My job wasn’t to be a videographer,” he said. “It was to tell you what you are doing right or wrong.”

Jones started out nine years ago with small cameras for use in action sports like skiing, motocross, snowmobile racing and car racing.

“I realized it was perfect for this industry as well,” Jones said about moving on to horse racing.

He was friends Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero’s daughter-in-law and son, who encouraged Jones to call Cordero and try out the camera on the jockey’s helmet. According to Jones, Cordero loved it and, “It took all of about two days for everyone at the barns to know about it.”

But, the design was not practical. For one, it was too big and the jockeys had to wear a pack on their back that could cause injury if they fell off the horse and landed on it.

“In all sincerity, it was dangerous,” Jones said. “Nothing happened, thank God.”

Now, Jones has a smaller — about three inches long and weighing three ounces — version that can be Velcro-ed on the jockey’s helmet in a matter of seconds. If the jockey ever fell off the horse and landed on it, it would pop right off.

Jones thinks the possibilities now are endless.

“It’s an entertainment, it’s a revenue generator, it’s a training tool,” Jones said.

He has worked with trainers like Gary Contessa and several jockeys on the training tracks and claims they all swear by the technology.

“The trainers use it too see how a horse handles or how a jockey handles the horse,” He said. “They can send it to the owners in Florida or Kentucky ten minutes after the horse is off the track and show them what the horse looked like in a workout.”

Jones also sees the benefits of using it to evaluate jockeys in the apprentice program, for horse sales if a potential buyer can see how a horse runs before he is even two years olds and during the races.

“Every owner, every trainer, every jockey all want this to happen,” Jones said about getting them in the races. “And they want to happen as soon as possible.”

NYRA has been a little slower. While the camera is used in the morning training sessions, NYRA — or any other state racing organization — has yet to approve use of helmet cameras during the race.

“We’d like to see it implemented ASAP,” Jones said. “NYRA, for whatever reason has not approved it.”

While NYRA takes it’s time to make a decision Jones hopes that this technology can make it onto the track during an actual race.

“I’m not interested in waiting around another year. I’ve been at this six years,” Jones said. “Imagine what it would be like to see what it was like to run the Kentucky Derby or the Travers, at our track, from this view.”

The new company will allow youthful participants in extreme and action sports to broadcast live video over the Internet and on their Smart Phones. It will also provide unlimited archive space of video, an easy way to publish photos and articles, and most importantly, the ability to connect with friends and family across the globe.

The backbone of this venture is the partnership with iHigh.com- the highly innovative, easy to use, and wildly popular website that became known for providing video streaming services to High School Sports teams and athletes. Quickly spreading beyond the US, iHigh has grown into a Global Youth Network with a special focus on youth through age 23.

The company is planning on its first broadcast to be on September 18th at Round 4 of the F-150 4-Hour Pavement Endurance Series at Oakland Valley Race Park in Cuddebackville, NY.

Michael ‘Jonsey’ Jones remarked that “The iHigh platform has been around for some time now, and it provides sophisticated services in a very intuitive and easy-to-use way. They have successfully used this concept to gain viewership for High School programs, and we plan to extend this concept to other sports.”

Keith Jacobsen added “Motor Sports seemed like a logical avenue for expanding this idea. There are thousands of young motorcyclists who race very competitively in AMA Sports and other independent programs. National X Stream will provide these young athletes the opportunity to gain attention for themselves and their sport. And, we will hopefully help generate interest in this exciting sport by giving it the exposure that it deserves.”

The F-150 4-Hour Pavement Endurance Series is presented by Bob Weiss of WeissRacing.com, AMA Pro racer PJ Jacobsen, and OVRP owner Tim Hannen.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.OVRP.com.

This broadcast can be seen on the company’s iHigh portal, at: http://www.ihigh.com/nationalxstream , and also on the company’s own portal at: http://www.nx1.tv, live on the first day of the event.

For more information, contact:
Michael ‘Jonsey’ Jones
michael.jones@nx1.tv

The owners of JonesCAM knew its best to refine and prove a product before it’s officially launched and the technology changes over these testing years has made its new 3 ounce lipstick sized HD camera possible. The JonesCAM HD camera is so small; two cams can safely be worn side by side, one pointing forward and one pointing backwards on the jockey’s helmet offering another unique perspective for the viewers on possible with a JonesCAM HD JockeyCAM. Thanks to the efforts of many knowledgeable individuals in the horse racing worlds of trainers, jockeys, owners and race promoting associations, the JonesCAM jockey cam will soon become an expected feature offered at tracks around the world. Saratoga Raceway may be the first to offer the many applications this unique, time tested HD product has to deliver. From the highlights shown from the jockey’s perspective between races, by stewards and TV broadcasters, from workout videos for owners made by the trainers to the teaching of up and coming jockeys, this new 3 ounce HD camera is the solution everyone now wants.

During the 2010 and 2011 racing seasons other world renowned jockeys like Gary Stevens and Javier Castellano were added to JonesCAM’s evaluation staff along with Angel to test JonesCAM’s micro- sized, SD prototype model of JonesCAM’s current HD recorder used for this video. After their suggestions for its many applications for the thoroughbred world, and those of numerous world class athletes in their respective sports, the JonesCAM “ION” HD Advantage was launched in the spring of 2011 for professional HD video production needs and consumer sales. That was then, this is now and the future of horse racing, training, and spectator entertainment and track revenue generating potential via sponsorship opportunities all indicate the business of horse racing will be changed forever in the same way so many other sports have done when using JonesCAM HD helmet camera products.

JonesCAM’s “ION” HD Advantage recorder has over the past 10 months, quietly proved it’s the smallest, most versatile HD recorder in the world. A few sample video clips are shown at YouTube and on JonesCAM’s more extensive Vimeo Channel. Check them out and see why, no other HD recorder made can compare when a users honestly compares its spec’s based on equal video resolution, features, versatility and price. It should be called the “ION” Everything because it can be “Your Eye On” whatever you do…. Try wearing its competition on your cap while hunting, fishing, and headband while hiking, or goggles while snorkeling. Or try this one, inside your lacrosse or hockey helmet with our patents pending model, YOU CAN’T and that’s just the beginning of what this recorder is all about. Versatility and high quality HD videos for whatever you want to do. It really does “Capture the Experience”. Go on, push the limits and record it all, why not the JonesCAM “ION HD Advantage… Check out JonesCAM’s HD products and services at www.JonesCAM.tv

Over the past 9 months JonesCAM, the oldest POV focused helmet camera company in the world has quietly been developing and field testing what action and extreme sports users are calling the smallest, most versatile helmet, cap and on board HD recorders made. The $179.00 JonesCAM “ION” HD Advantage Helmet and on board camera successfully hit the snow, ice, pavement, dirt, clouds and even went under the ocean to capture awesome HD audio/video clips. Attached to the helmets, goggles and frames of the fastest racers, cars, bikes, sleds and more across the country, it immediately began “Capturing the Experiences”and attention of top professionals and amateurs seeking a small, affordable HD recorder. JonesCAM’s testing grounds and testers are the best at what they do and their respected feedback has helped create JonesCAM’s soon to be released series of next generation, cutting edge, patents pending HD products called the JonesCAM “ION” HD Advantage Plus. Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/jonescamvideos1 then http://www.JonesCAM.tv and http://www.iHigh.com/jctv Be sure to visit a few of our pro staff end users site like http://www.celticracing.com, and http://www.pj99.com The Dirt Track Channel named JonesCAM their official on board camera system http://www.thedirttrackchannel.com Watch The Dirt Track Channel’s YouTube clips here http://www.youtube.com/roothog17

Based on the successful development and testing of the JonesCAM “ION” HD Advantage by AMA SportBike and Flat Track racers like PJ Jacobsen, big block modified drivers Ronnie Johnson, Richie Tobias and Chad Brachman along with World of Outlaw sprint car driver Lucas Wolfe, several new HD helmet,cap, on board products will soon attack the markets, tracks, trails and woods worldwide. With features,versatility, practicality and prices no other manufacture can offer, the demands of amateur and pro’s around the world will finally be met. In the world of action, extreme, and recreational sports you’ll “Capture the Experiences” in ways only our 17 years of POV experience and product development, inspired by the needs of world class professionals can deliver.

JonesCAM’s newest device weighing in at just over 3 ounces, you won’t even know its there….. That  is what versatility is all about. They’re also water, shock and foolproof. Push one button and start recording in HD. Wear it riding, fishing, and hunting, hiking, kayaking or racing, rain or shine. That is the JonesCAM HD Advantage, it’s a tool, use it as such. Connect it to your laptop via its USB PC Web cam port and accurately sight it in, pivot its head up/down/right/left to exactly the right position, then lock it and forget it….. From that same USB port you’ll automatically view, transfer, delete/add files and quicklyre-charge the devices. Optional removable battery models will also be available. Recharge all models in the car, field or at home with the supplied re-charger that is part of the devices extensive mounting and accessories package. Want to see the best video quality possible, go ahead via the HDMI port. Soon you’ll be getting “Your Jones On” like never before in 2D and 3D.

3D videos are the future according to many end users and manufactures and JonesCAM has a solution for that too. 3D isn’t anything new to our company, seeing we began developing 3D products in mid 90’s. Well before all other POV companies even existed. The simplicity of our new device is once again the answer to many end users needs and it too is so small, you can wear it on or under a helmets visor, point it as a camcorder or mount it anywhere your wildest dream can send you to.

There is a lot of press about helmet cams for football. That’s old news for us. Five years ago JonesCAM introduced its helmet cameras to football but that was then, this is now. The current and future JonesCAM products show once again what practicality and versatility means. Not only can the players wear our tiny HD cams, so can the coaches.. On the helmet on the line or in the backfield on a coach’s cap, the results are the same, awesome results as a teaching and critiquing tool. If you play hockey, lacrosse or ride a mountain/road bike, we have a model for you too that fits between the helmet shell and the helmets inner liner. This model is perfect for extreme and contact sports and all models offer a removable mode indicator LED light that will tell the user the mode the device is in. Catch this; some models will have an optional micro-sized wireless transmitting system so even your crew, family and supporters can see live what you see.