Acclaimed as one of horse racing’s best settings, Arlington Park, outside of Chicago, boasts hundreds of thousands of visitors to its clubhouse and grounds during racing season. Park management chose Brivo Access Control Systems (ACS) from Brivo Systems, LLC to manage access to secured areas of the grandstand and the backstretch, a highly secure and regulated area, where more than 2,100 horses are stabled. The grandstand’s 18 door access readers are connected directly to the park’s network, while the two backstretch gates are connected and controlled wirelessly. All access can be managed with any standard Web browser from any computer, located anywhere with Internet access.
“Brivo was the only Web enabled system that also offered wireless,” said Chris Martin, Arlington Park Director of Public Safety and Security. “Our former system required a dedicated PC and internal IT support. We were looking to upgrade to a system that offered wireless connectivity, greater flexibility, a means to reduce IT dependency, and improved ease of use. The wireless option was paramount, because we wanted to expand access control to cover the stables in the backstretch, but trenching would have been a prohibitive expense. We have both wired and wireless with Brivo on one system.”
Martin and his staff use Brivo’s ability to create and manage multiple groups having different access privileges, both of which change throughout the year. One other Brivo feature Martin has used is email and cell phone notification. “During racing season, we have a lot of staff here, and it’s often a changing population. On any given day, if I need to omit access or see a certain individual, I establish a notification and when that person arrives I know where and when to get a hold of him—that’s a great feature.”
In the future, Martin is looking to integrate his DVR video into the control system and he’d like to get even more sophisticated in using the alert features. “We want to install automated parking access so we can improve productivity, but also so when certain senior staff and VIPs arrive, we know in time to greet them and make sure they have an excellent experience.”
“Every end user is different in their own way as to what special features appeal to them,” said Brivo President and CEO, Steve Van Till. “Ease of use, flexibility, and not needing dedicated IT staff or PCs are common benefits we hear all the time. For Arlington Park, ensuring expanded security while saving money and fully utilizing the notification system for both operations and marketing purposes are of special significance.”
