About SEN Track

SEN Track

SEN Track is a national narrowcast radio network dedicated to horse racing, operated by the Sports Entertainment Network (SEN). Described at its launch as Australia's first independent thoroughbred, harness and greyhound radio racing service, the network broadcasts previews, live race coverage, analysis and reviews across a chain of AM and FM transmitters in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Wollongong, Gosford and regional centres, alongside DAB+ simulcasts and streaming through the SEN app. In Sydney it broadcasts on 1539 kHz AM, complementing the network's flagship sports station SEN 1170.

Overview

SEN Track is the racing arm of the Sports Entertainment Network, the Melbourne-headquartered sports media company led by chief executive Craig Hutchison. Where the main SEN stations carry a broad sports-talk format, SEN Track is devoted to racing in all its forms: thoroughbred, harness and greyhound. Its tagline at launch captured the remit — in Hutchison's words, "the new sound of chasing, pacing and racing."

The network's transmitter footprint spans the eastern seaboard and the west: 1539 kHz AM in Sydney (1,000 watts, simulcast on DAB+), 1593 kHz AM in Melbourne (simulcast on DAB+), 1053 kHz AM in Brisbane (simulcast on DAB+), 1620 kHz AM on the Gold Coast, 657 kHz AM in Perth, 1575 kHz AM in Wollongong, 801 kHz AM in Gosford, 89.1 MHz FM in Mildura, 91.9 MHz FM in the Latrobe Valley, and 96.9 MHz FM in Ingham and 99.1 MHz FM in Atherton in North Queensland. The service is also streamed live through the SEN website and app.

The audience is racing followers — punters and enthusiasts who want continuous racing coverage through the day — and the network positions itself as an independent alternative to the TAB-owned racing broadcasters.

History

SEN Track launched on 28 March 2020, debuting in Melbourne on 1593 AM as Australia's first independent thoroughbred, harness and greyhound radio racing service. The launch was part of the Sports Entertainment Network's rapid expansion under Hutchison: the company, founded in 2006 as Crocmedia and rebranded as SEN in 2020 (its parent becoming Sports Entertainment Group, formerly Pacific Star Network), was building a national sports audio footprint spanning talk, racing and digital.

The Sydney service on 1539 AM followed later in 2020. Announcing the launch, Hutchison told Mediaweek that "from this Saturday we will launch the new 1539 SENTrack Sydney," describing it as the company's racing and sport hybrid. The Sydney rollout was part of a three-station push into the harbour city that also brought 1170 SEN and a repackaged Melbourne 1116 SEN feed to DAB+ audiences, with North Sydney established as the company's Sydney base.

Expansion continued into Queensland, where the network launched in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast with Queensland sporting identities Ian Healy and Pat Welsh joining the team, and a commercial director, Brad Johnson, appointed to lead the Queensland sales effort. By late 2020 the network comprised ten stations around the country.

A significant early milestone was SEN's securing of broadcast rights for the 2020 Melbourne Cup Carnival with the Victoria Racing Club. The carnival coverage — led by SEN's chief sports caller Gerard Whateley, alongside six-time Group 1 winning jockey David Taggart and prominent owner-breeder Simon O'Donnell — aired across the SEN Track stations and 1116 SEN Melbourne, and was streamed on the SEN website and app. The 2020 carnival marked the 90th anniversary of Phar Lap's famous Melbourne Cup win, and SEN's chief commercial officer Pat Moloughney described the carnival broadcast as a privilege and honour for the young network.

Programming and Content

SEN Track's schedule is built around the racing day: previews and form analysis in the mornings, live race calls through the afternoon, and reviews and discussion wrapping up the day's racing. The coverage spans thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing from meetings across Australia, with the network's presenters and analysts providing the form, tips and post-race dissections that punters rely on.

The on-air team blends racing specialists with high-profile sports broadcasters. Gerard Whateley, SEN's chief sports caller, leads the network's marquee racing coverage; David Taggart brings a jockey's perspective as a six-time Group 1 winner; and Simon O'Donnell contributes the viewpoint of a prominent owner and breeder. The network's Queensland launch added local identities Ian Healy and Pat Welsh to the presenting roster.

Beyond the races themselves, the network carries the banter, interviews and sporting conversation that characterise SEN's broader output — Hutchison's launch description promised "plenty of fun and banter for punters" alongside the previews, analysis, insights and reviews. The service functions as a racing companion: always on, always talking racing, with the flexibility to range across codes and meetings as the day's calendar dictates.

Coverage and Audience

The network's transmitter chain gives it a genuinely national footprint for a narrowcast service. In Sydney, 1539 kHz AM at 1,000 watts covers the metropolitan area, with a DAB+ simulcast providing digital-quality reception. Melbourne's 1593 AM and Brisbane's 1053 AM similarly pair AM signals with DAB+ simulcasts, while Perth (657 AM), Wollongong (1575 AM), Gosford (801 AM), the Gold Coast (1620 AM) and the regional FM services extend the network into the major racing markets.

The audience is the racing public: punters who follow meetings across the country, along with the trainers, owners, breeders and industry participants who make up racing's professional community. As an independent service — not owned by a wagering operator — SEN Track offers an alternative to Tabcorp's Sky Sports Radio and the state TAB radio services, a point of differentiation the network has emphasised since launch.

Digital distribution is central to the network's strategy: every station streams through the SEN app and website, which also carry on-demand content, AFL Nation and NRL Nation live commentary, and programming from the network's other channels. The app functions as a national aggregator, with the company reporting strong time-spent-listening figures among its users. The Queensland expansion illustrated the network's local-market approach: alongside the Brisbane and Gold Coast transmitters, SEN appointed Queensland identities Ian Healy and Pat Welsh to the presenting team and installed a dedicated commercial director for the state, signalling that each market would get local voices rather than a purely networked feed. The 2020 Melbourne Cup Carnival provided an early showcase of what the network could do with premium rights — SEN's coverage, fronted by Whateley with Taggart and O'Donnell, aired across all ten SENTrack stations and the flagship Melbourne talk station, and was positioned by the company as carnival coverage "befitting the iconic carnival," in the words of chief commercial officer Pat Moloughney.

Ownership

SEN Track is owned and operated by the Sports Entertainment Network, headed by chief executive Craig Hutchison. The company was established in 2006 as Crocmedia, a sports content distribution business, and rebranded as the Sports Entertainment Network in 2020; its parent company is Sports Entertainment Group (formerly Pacific Star Network), the ASX-listed entity through which the network's acquisitions — including the Sydney 1170 AM licence — were made. SEN Track sits alongside the flagship 1116 SEN Melbourne, 1170 SEN Sydney and the company's DAB+ channels as part of the group's national sports audio portfolio.

Digital Presence

The network streams live through sen.com.au and the SEN app, which provide the full range of SEN stations and on-demand content. The app has been a strategic priority for the company since the network's launch, positioned as a national aggregator offering live and on-demand audio across SEN Track, the metropolitan SEN stations and specialist content streams for key sports. Social media channels support the racing coverage with tips, results and video highlights, extending the network's presence beyond its broadcast signals.