The introduction of night time racing at Turffontein, Johannesburg’s oldest racecourse, required a very special lighting system.
Night racing presents its own unique set of considerations that are totally different to any other kind of event lighting. The jockeys and the horses obviously need to have a clear line of sight that’s unaffected by glare. The spectators in the stands must also be able to get a good view of the action. Lastly, the track lighting needs to cater for the demands of the television cameras and broadcast requirements. Important considerations in meeting these requirements included vertical illuminence and its uniformity, as well as the colour temperature of the lamps.
The key to meeting the main lighting specifications lay in the actual masts onto which the lights were mounted, how many were used, as well as their height. As no standard structure existed anywhere in Africa for this purpose, Prosound, together with Johannesburg based engineering consultants Advoco, and Dutch truss manufacturer Prolyte, collaborated to design a series of customised mono masts and lattice structures to support the lights.
After a considering a variety of solutions, we came up with an entirely new concept. The stand-alone structures are sturdy enough to support the lighting and withstand extreme weather conditions, but are also designed in such a way as to avoid obscuring the view of the television cameras.
Our experience in designing and engineering custom audio and lighting systems is unrivalled. As a result, we were able to devise a solution that met all of this project’s diverse needs. With this unique design – a first for Africa and possibly even the world – we were able to transform Turffontein into a truly world-class night racing venue.
