Ontario Racing has been on a mission to drive excitement for a day at the track in recent years by making people feel as  close to the races as possible, and now its using virtual reality to take that idea to the next level.

In a new 360-degree video, viewers get a first-person view of every angle on an Ontario Racing track, be it from where a jockey is sitting before and during the harness race or the back of the starting gate truck.

The video is primarily being shared as an embedded video in interactive display ads on Oath-owned properties in both mobile and desktop formats. The video can also be downloaded to VR-enabled devices and headsets.

The experience was developed by Oath and RYOT Studio, which it acquired last year to provide content marketing services to clients, particularly when it comes to VR. PHD is handling the media buy on the campaign, which runs into November.

Since rebranding in 2016, Ontario Racing (a part of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation) has focused its marketing efforts on getting would-be visitors to the track as close to experiencing the action as possible. The new VR ads fit with that approach – quite literally putting viewers in the middle of the race. While other pushes this year have focused on being immersed in the equally exciting action off the track in videos that show a visit to an Ontario Racing property is about “More Than The Race.”