Harness Racing

Harness racing is a sport that involves a horse tied to a lightweight wagon on two wheels, driven by a rider. On your visit to the race tracks that hold these races, you will witness this fast paced sport and see all the betting and wagering happening around you. There is excitement in the air for people, awaiting race results, who are sure of their bets and wagers. Physical presence aside, there is a lot of activity online too, with people going through racebooks and placing bets online.

Harness racing is referred to the particular form of horseracing, in which the horses race in a specified pattern of movement (gait) in a trot or pace. Two wheeled carts, called sulkies, are usually attached to the horses to carry the riders. The sulky (informally known as a bike) is a lightweight two-wheeler cart equipped with bicycle wheels.

The horses that are usually raced in these types of races are called Standardbred horses. They are called so because in the past, only those horses were allowed to be entered into the Standardbred stud book that could trot or travel a mile’s distance in a predetermined time frame.

There is a good reason why harnesses and sulkies are used in this form of racing. Pacing horses uses a lateral stride. This essentially means that the right front and right hind legs move forward as the left front and the left hind legs move backward. This type of movement makes the horse rock from side to side, which helps riding the horse, as a standard saddled racing horse would be very difficult; hence, sulky is used for the rider. Pacing races count for around 80% to 90% of the harness races held in continental North America.

Standardbred pacers are less likely to break stride, as they often wear hopples (straps which connect the legs on each of the horse’s sides). These straps are not meant to create the gait; the gait is natural. They are merely a support to pace at top speed. This also accounts for a much safer race.

Looking back into the history of this type of racing, it would be prudent to mention where it all began or from whom. The thoroughbred stallion called Messenger, whose ancestry can be traced back to the Darley Arabian line of thoroughbreds, entered the United States in 1788, having been bought by Henry Astor. Messenger’s great grandson, sired from Abdallah, was called Hamiltonian 10, and was born in Sugar Loaf, Orange County, New York. Hamiltonian 10 is considered by many to be the foundation of the modern Standardbred breed.

Almost all the races held in North American are one mile races. The way the strategy of the race goes is somewhat like this: a driver would contend for the lead out of the gate. The objective is not to get boxed in as the horses fall into two lines, one on the rail and one on the outside. Some riders opt to go to the front on the outside. This is called “first over”, a difficult position, or they try to race with cover on the outside. If a rider gets behind the leader, at a position known as the pocket, it is called a garden trip. Third on the rail is what is referred to as the death hole.

As the race is about to enter the last quarter, the drivers start to implement their tactics in an effort to win the race. One such tactic might be to go to the lead first, circle the field, try and move up an open rail, behind a horse that is expected to tire. Since these types of races tend to be extremely close, judges often have to request prints of the finish line while crossing in order to determine the order of finishing the race.

Races for trotters and pacers are held in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, whereas harness races on the European continent are limited to trotters. Accounting for an about 90% of harness race meetings, pacing is an extremely popular mode of harness racing.