What Is Harness Horse Racing Articles | Horse Betting

By: Richard Bleuze

Harness racing is a form of horseracing in which the horses race in a specified gait--either the trot or the pace. They also usually pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies, although races to saddle are still occasionally conducted. 

In most jurisdictions harness races are restricted to Standardbreds although cold-blooded horses are raced in northern Europe--mostly in Scandinavia. Standardbreds are so called because in the early years of the Standardbred stud book only horses who could trot or pace a mile in a standard time, or whose registered Standardbreds can compete. Standardbreds look similar to thoroughbred horses but are tougher and usually have calmer temperaments. Their breeding lines started out with thoroughbreds then branched out in a similar way to the Hackney breed, but to maximise the trotting and pacing speed.

In continental Europe all harness races are conducted between trotters. A trotter's forelegs move in tandem with the opposite hind legs -- when the right foreleg moves forward so does the left hind leg, and vice versa.

In North America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada races are held for pacers. Pacers' forelegs move in tandem with the hind legs on the same side. Pacing races constitute 80% to 90% of the harness races conducted in North America.

The horses are faster and, most important to the bettor, less likely to break stride (a horse which starts to gallop must be slowed down and taken to the outside until it regains stride).

One of the reasons pacers are less likely to break stride is that they often wear hopples or hobbles, straps which connect the legs on each of the horse's sides. The pace is a natural gait, and hobbles are merely an accessory to support the pace at top speed, which also ensures safer races.

Most harness races start from behind a motorized starting gate. The horses line up behind a hinged gate mounted on a motor vehicle which then takes them to the starting line. At the starting line the wings of the gate are folded up and the vehicle accelerates away from the horses. Some European and Australiasian races start without a gate.

The sulky  is a light two-wheeled cart equipped with bicycle wheels. The driver carries a long, light whip which is chiefly used to signal the horse by tapping and to make noise by striking the sulky shaft.

Almost all North American races are at a distance of one mile, and North American harness horses are all assigned a "mark" which is their fastest winning time at that distance. Harness races involve considerable strategy. First of all, drivers may contend for the lead out of the gate. They then try to avoid getting boxed in as the horses form into two lines -- one on the rail and the other outside -- in the second quarter mile. They may decide to go to the front, to race on the front on the outside ("first over", a difficult position), or to race with cover on the outside. On the rail behind the leader is a choice spot, known as the pocket, and a horse in that position is said to have a garden trip. Third on the rail is an undesirable spot, known as the death hole. As the race nears the three-quarter mile mark, the drivers implement their tactics for advancing their positions – going to the lead early, circling the field, moving up an open rail, advancing behind a horse expected to tire, and so on. The finishes of harness races are often spectacular and perhaps more often extremely close. The judges  often have to request prints of win, place, and show photos to determine the order of finish.