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Stride launches challenger platform to drive participation in horse racing ownership and wider fan engagement in the sport
Backed and developed by SportCaller founders, new syndication platform for racing outlines next-gen features and streamlined admin & comms from one responsive digital hub
Stride, the next-generation horse racing platform that truly democratises Flat racehorse syndication and deepens the ownership experience, has been launched to bring new levels in value and engagement for key stakeholders who represent the lifeblood of the sport.
Stride plans to become the premier racing communications platform that both centralises and optimises communications between syndicate owners and their respective horses, trainers, stable support staff, jockeys and racecourses. Its aim is to support, illuminate and enrich the experience of owning a thoroughbred on the journey from the purchase ring to the winner’s enclosure.
The Stride team brings together a host of familiar faces and heavy hitters from the domains of sport, racing, betting and fan-engagement technology for a clearer take on fractional ownership that delivers increased engagement against the backdrop of a progressively homogenised digital-management landscape for horse racing.
Cillian Barry and Eugene Cosgrove, founders of SportCaller – the market-leading free-to-play sports games supplier whose cornerstone clients and games were horse racing-focussed – take the reins as Chairman and Head of Product respectively, while veteran COO Donal Browne has been recruited to steward day-to-day business operations for a venture whose horses will initially be placed with Group 1-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien, whose talented string is housed at picturesque Piltown in County Kilkenny, Ireland.
However, Stride’s CEO and prime mover is former Munster and Leicester rugby star Johne Murphy, who has proven his equine and syndicate management muscle in recent years with the formation of both Rugby & Racing and Thoroughbred Racing Syndicates, the latter also attached to the O’Brien yard, whose successful track record for buying and selling equine talent and exploiting a primed bloodstock market created a dream foundation on which to build Stride’s subsequent flagship brand.
As an eloquent case in point, the business sold five of the six horses which were bought to race on the Flat in 2021 for close to seven figures, giving backers a 27% return on their investment. Stride is also part of the Techstars Sports Accelerator, a global network that assists entrepreneurial ventures in succeeding over the long-term. Founded in 2006, Techstars has now invested in more than 3,000 companies and today has a market cap of $75 billion.
Murphy continues in his multi-faceted role, also acting as Stride’s spokesperson and a passionate rudder for both thoroughbred and syndicate recruitment.
Murphy commented: “Stride is more than a responsive platform for buying and selling shares in elite-level racehorses. It’s also a way for racing to reconnect, engage and retain its most vital stakeholders: passionate owners who support the sport through times good and bad. Our fractional ownership model readily articulates the merits over micro-ownership and its associated cautionary tales, and also enables our members to choose a portfolio of racehorses that elevates enjoyment and mitigates downside at a challenging economic time across most sectors. Investors can now research, buy, manage and watch their stable of syndicated thoroughbreds at a fraction traditional ownership spends, with zero hidden costs or clawbacks. The price you pay for your share in the syndicate is the sole fee you’ll ever be asked for.
“But our unique Stride platform and its underpinning technology is also here to help owners seamlessly experience racehorse ownership at the click of a button, wherever their busy lives take them on the map. That can mean anything from what you’d expect in the simple joys of sharing the risk with friends and enjoying the raceday thrills and spills; to what you might not in the form of enhanced stable-engagement tools, or regular re-evaluations for profitable resale opportunities. No-one’s got a keener eye for acquiring and training top-class talent than Joseph, so we can’t wait to see how our first syndicated fare over the 2023 season ahead.”
“Stable visits and racecourse privileges are par for the course, alongside the clubbable craic with your family, mates and members. But it’s a long time between drinks in racing! And in racehorse ownership there should be so much more to enjoy, evaluate and benefit from experientially and analytically. Stride is the fluctuating portfolio you won’t want to put down – and the one your friends and colleagues actually want to hear about!”
Cillian Barry, Stride Chairman, added: “Having seen what Johne and Joseph achieved with their first round of syndicates, it’s a thrill to combine their passion and equine acumen for Stride with our own technical know-how around proprietary technology platforms and improved engagement. Eugene and I are already enjoying getting back to our shared first love of racing – remember, SportCaller was initially named RaceCaller!
“Stride’s next-generation informational and experiential platform already includes an array of management, administration and engagement features whose quality and variety set it apart from its rivals who have to date benefitted from a niche sector which has been slow to adopt transformative technology and the latest techniques in social engagement. We naturally aim to build on that over the coming 12 months, fostering a best-in-breed intuitive digital hub, whose array of audiovisual, editorial and data outputs will take members closer to the action than ever before. Whether your horse is fighting out a high-octane finish at the track or enjoying a well-deserved roll in the hay with the stable cat, we’ll capture and communicate it all.”
Stride’s unique operating model:
Stride purchases unraced yearlings and two-year-old breeze up horses in a price bracket from €25,000 – €150,000. This means Stride horses cover every maiden option in Ireland, facilitating multiple runners and accompanying racecourse engagements throughout the season, and granting syndicate members multiple selling points over the year. Stride typically sell shares in syndicates of between 2-6 horses. These syndicates are comprised of horses throughout the aforementioned price range. The intention is to sell within 12 months of purchase and profits returned to owners. While there are no fixed amounts for syndicate investment, a 5% investment in one syndicate would usually range from €5,000 to €50,000. The price you pay for your share in the syndicate is the only fee members pay.
The Stride platform’s features and tools include but are not limited to:
- Website, social media feeds & mobile app-centralised comms (soon to debut in the App Store)
- Syndicate management & updates (direct from both trainer and work riders)
- Yard tours and live stable-cams
- Profile pieces (from top trainers and jockeys to key stable staff)
- Gallops videos
- Racecourse workouts
- Equine interest videos (your horse, its education, its stablemates, unpacking their unique characters and idiosyncrasies)
- Equine welfare (tracking and ensuring your horse’s wellbeing)
- Easy-access group chat interaction and networking with other syndicate members
- Race preview and reviews
- Ratings, timings, form and results
- Early entries, declarations and race-shape criteria
- Up-to-the-second betting data and odds
- Live low-latency raceday streaming
- Breeding prospects / resale opportunities
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TEN Launches First-ever Fully On-chain Poker Powered by Autonomous AI Agents

TEN, The Entertainment Network for AI‑Native iGaming, has launched House of TEN—the first fully on-chain poker application featuring autonomous AI agents with trustless, encrypted gameplay.
More than just a technical milestone, the launch signals the arrival of AI-native iGaming—a new category of on-chain entertainment where AI agents and trustless wagering converge. The successful launch of House of TEN illustrates how TEN’s unique, encrypted execution environment is expanding the possibilities for what can be achieved on the Ethereum blockchain. With programmable privacy, verifiable randomness and no off-chain logic, TEN enables fully autonomous, high-stakes games that merge crypto trustlessness with real gameplay complexity.
Poker That Actually Works On-Chain
Poker has been played for over 200 years, but until now, it couldn’t exist fully on-chain without compromising fairness or privacy. By solving long-standing limitations around privacy, randomness, and user experience—without relying on off-chain components—TEN is enabling games that were previously considered impossible to build on-chain. Users can stake on AI agents with distinct strategies and personalities, earning ZEN—a prediction-based rewards system that converts into future airdrops.
Poker requires hidden information, strategic play and fair randomness—none of which have been possible in previous blockchain implementations without compromising trust assumptions. TEN uses TEEs to deliver encrypted card hands and secure, verifiable randomness, without any off-chain logic.
“We’ve built the world’s first true on-chain poker with AI agents you can stake on. It’s one of the most technically advanced dApps ever deployed in Web3. To make it work, we had to solve cryptographic challenges that most thought were impossible—like fully private card hands, autonomous logic, and fair, tamper-proof dealing,” said Cais Manai, Co-Founder & Head of Product at TEN.
AI Agents That Think, Bluff and Deceive
TEN’s poker experience includes autonomous AI agents with unique personalities and play styles, from aggressive risk-takers to unpredictable wildcards. Players can follow and stake on these agents as they compete in real time. The gameplay experience mirrors leading online poker platforms, only now, it’s fully on-chain, transparent and decentralized. Each hand is unpredictable. Odds move in real time based on player actions, not bots, because the game state is encrypted and can’t be sniped.
The launch of House of TEN is a live demonstration of what the protocol makes possible:
• Trust in the protocol, not the people.
• Chain-level encryption.
• Lightning-fast finality.
• Seamless user experience (UX) that hides complexity.
A Glimpse Into What’s Next for Ethereum
While poker is the first showcase, TEN is built to support much more. Its encrypted execution environment enables entirely new classes of on-chain games and AI applications that require privacy, randomness or complex off-chain-like logic—spanning DeFi, gaming and AI-based applications.
“TEN isn’t just another L2—we’ve built what we believe is the most sophisticated infrastructure in the space. This launch proves that real utility, strong user experience (UX), and cryptographic privacy can all coexist on Ethereum. We’re building for the future of institutions, enterprises, and autonomous systems entering Web3,” said Gavin Thomas, CEO of TEN Protocol.
The post TEN Launches First-ever Fully On-chain Poker Powered by Autonomous AI Agents appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Ygam Welcomes Two New Trustees

Ygam has strengthened its board of trustees with two appointments bringing combined expertise in governance, policy, public affairs and safeguarding.
Judy White joins the Ygam board with over 20 years of experience in governance and operational leadership across the not-for-profit sector. A Chartered Secretary, Judy has a proven track record in governance, risk management, data protection, transformation and stakeholder engagement. She most recently served as Head of Governance at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), where she oversaw governance, assurance and risk across the organisation.
Previously, Judy spent seven years at the Gambling Commission as a Senior Manager in Licensing, where she played a key role in assessing complex licensing applications. Judy’s deep understanding of governance frameworks and regulatory environments will provide crucial oversight and support as Ygam continues to grow and evolve.
Iain Corby joins alongside Judy as an experienced leader with a diverse career spanning consultancy, government policy, and the third sector. His early career included 12 years as a programme management consultant at Deloitte before transitioning into policy work.
Iain has experience working in gambling harms prevention sector, previously serving as Deputy Chief Executive of GambleAware. He is currently the founding Executive Director of the Age Verification Providers Association which prioritises child protection in the digital space. With an MBA from UCLA and a reputation for delivering performance improvements, Ian brings strategic insight, commercial acumen and a wealth of knowledge in public affairs and communications.
Mike Wocik, Chair of Ygam, said: “We are delighted to welcome Judy and Iain to the Ygam Board. Their wealth of experience and expertise will further strengthen our governance and strategic leadership, ensuring we continue to operate at the highest standards. Strong governance is the foundation of our success, and their insights will be invaluable as we grow our impact and evolve as a leader in our field. I look forward to working with them to drive our mission forward and make a lasting difference.”
Judy White said: “I’m excited to join the fantastic team at Ygam. I’m passionate about supporting children and young people, and I’ve been hugely impressed by Ygam’s position as a leader in their field, with a clear commitment to high standards of governance and impact. I look forward to engaging and collaborating with the board and staff to advance Ygam’s vision and mission, ultimately supporting children and young people in safely navigating our increasingly digital world.”
Iain Corby said: “Although it has been six years since I was at GambleAware, I have followed developments in the field from a distance and recognise this is a time of great change and opportunity with the introduction of the new levy. The growing focus on prevention has never been more important, and I look forward to supporting the board, the whole leadership team, and the impressive team that is delivering such a formidable impact for young people across the country and beyond.”
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Narva Communications Becomes Svenska Spel’s New Agency for Corporate Communications

Narva Communications has become Svenska Spel’s new agency for corporate communications.
“We received high-quality bids from some of Sweden’s leading agencies in Corporate Communication. After a thorough evaluation process, Narva was the agency that received the highest score. They have demonstrated great strategic acumen, strong analytical skills and a very good understanding of Svenska Spel’s mission and communication needs,” Andreas Jerat, Head of Corporate Communication at Svenska Spel, said.
Narva’s assignment includes strategic communication support within Corporate Communication, Public Affairs and financial communication. The assignment also includes the production of annual and sustainability reports. The agreement is valid for two years starting in May 2025, with the possibility of extension 1 + 1 year.
“We are extremely proud that Svenska Spel has chosen Narva as a partner for its group communications. Svenska Spel is one of Sweden’s most well-known brands with an important social mission. We look forward to working with them to develop communications and help further strengthen the image of Svenska Spel as a role model for games that are offered in a safe and responsible manner,” said Frida Dahlgren, CEO of Narva Communications and account manager for Svenska Spel.
The post Narva Communications Becomes Svenska Spel’s New Agency for Corporate Communications appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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