Photo Finish Live

Overview

Photo Finish Live is the premier Web3 horse racing simulation game on Solana, developed by Third Time Entertainment (Orlando, FL). Players breed, race, and trade NFT racehorses, while track owners stake $CROWN tokens to earn a share of race entry fees in $DERBY. The game features a deep genetic simulation engine — every horse carries virtual DNA that influences speed, stamina, and track preferences — making breeding strategy a core metagame.

Real-Money Wagering

Races involve real USDC wagered through the in-game $DERBY token (pegged: 80 DERBY = $1 USD, always redeemable for USDC). Photo Finish Live became the world's first real-money horse racing game approved by Apple for the App Store, a landmark milestone announced at Solana Breakpoint 2024. Per our platform scope ruling (2026-06-25), this is an in-scope gambling game — tag: gambling.

Two-Token Economy

• $CROWN (SPL, mint: GDfnEsia2WLAW5t8yx2X5j2mkfA74i5kwGdDuZHt7XmG) — governance/utility token. Stake CROWN to own racetracks proportionally and receive a cut of all entry fees. Fixed supply: 250,000,000. Market-traded on Solana DEXes.
• $DERBY — in-game USD-pegged currency (locked via SPL token extensions; not externally tradeable). Used for race entries, breeding fees, and wagering. Players deposit USDC → DERBY and withdraw winnings as USDC at any time.

Milestones & Scale

• Launched April 24, 2023 (mainnet "Live Launch")
• >7 million USDC distributed to track owners and CROWN stakers
• >$30 million in race entry fees and >$25 million in horse NFT sales since launch
• Official gaming partner of the Kentucky Derby / Churchill Downs
• BlockBet (blockbet.gg) — first official simulcast partner; 24/7 race wagering available
• Featured on NBC Sports coverage of the 2023 Kentucky Derby infield

Team

Founded in 2015 by veterans of EA Sports, FanDuel, and Zynga with 45+ years combined game industry experience:

• Ian Cummings — CEO & Founder. Former Creative Director of the Madden NFL franchise at EA Sports.
• Paul Fleetwood — Co-Founder. Former EA Sports/FanDuel executive.
• Brian Fleming — Co-Founder. Former EA Sports/Zynga.

Partnerships & Legitimacy

The Kentucky Derby partnership gives Photo Finish Live mainstream sports credibility rare for a crypto game. The Apple App Store approval — requiring real-money game compliance review — is a significant regulatory milestone. Seed funding ($3.5M round in 2022, led by Coinbase Ventures and Reciprocal Ventures; subsequent $2M from Sfermion) from credible investors further validates the project.