Horse Racing Sport

Harness racing is a type of horse-racing in which the horses race in a definite gait, pacing or trotting, as a rule pulling a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, where the driver sits, although races to saddle (trot monte in French) are still sometimes conducted, especially in Europe.

In the majority of jurisdictions harness races are restricted to standardbred horses. Cold-blooded horses are raced in Scandinavia, and European horses often have partly French or even Russian lineages. Standardbreds are so named 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 progeny could do so, were entered into the book. Standardbreds have proportionally shorter legs than thoroughbreds and longer bodies. They also are of more placid dispositions, as suits horses whose races involve more strategy and more re-acceleration than do thoroughbred races. The founding sire of today's standardbred horse was Messenger, a gray thoroughbred brought to America in 1788 and purchased by Henry Astor, brother of John Jacob Astor. From Messenger came a great-grandson, Hambletonian 10 (1849–1876), who gained a wide following for his racing prowess. However, it is his breed line for which he is most remembered. The lineage of virtually all American Standardbred race horses can be traced from Hambletonian 10's four sons.

As already mentioned above, harness races can be conducted in two different gaits: trotting and pacing. The distinction is that a trotter moves its legs forward in diagonal pairs, right front and left hind, then left front and right hind striking the ground simutaneously, whereas a pacer moves its legs laterally, right front and right hind together, then left front and left hind. In continental Europe races are conducted exclusively between trotters, whereas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States races are also held for pacers. Pacing races constitute 80% to 90% of the harness races conducted in North America. Pacing 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 belief that hopples are used to create this gait is a misconception, the pace is a natural gait, the hopples are merely an accessory to support the pace at top speed. 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. The other kind of start to race is a standing start, where there are tapes across the track behind which the horses either stand stationary or trot in circles in pairs in a specific pattern to hit the starting line as a front. This enables handicaps to be placed on horses according to class with several tapes, usually with 10 metres in between. Some European, Australian and New Zealand races start using tapes. The sulky (informally known as a bike) 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. There are strict rules as to how and how much the whip may be used.

Practically all North American races are at a distance of one mile (1,609m), and North American harness horses are all assigned a "mark" which is their fastest winning time at that distance. Harness races involve considerable strategy. Track size plays an important part here; on the smaller half-mile and five-eighths rings common to harness racing early speed becomes a more important factor, while the longer stretch runs of seven-eighths and mile tracks lend themselves more favorably to closing efforts. Usually several drivers will 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 on small tracks 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. Unlike thoroughbreds, harness horses accelerate during the final quarter mile of a race. The finishes of harness races are often spectacular and perhaps more often extremely close. The judges (equivalent to thoroughbred stewards) often have to request prints of win, place, and show photos to determine the order of finish. Most races are run on tracks constructed solely for harness racing (and may even have banked turns), but a few tracks conduct both harness and Thoroughbred flat racing. Until the 1990s, harness tracks featured a rail on the inside, much like Thoroughbred tracks. This changed to the use of pylons, usually of a flexible material, which marked the inside boundary of the course. This innovation was mainly for safety reasons, as it allowed a driver to pull off to the inside of the course if necessary, avoiding injury to him/herself, their horse and other competitors. In addition, this change allowed another innovation called "open stretch racing," where an additional lane was opened to the inside of the traditional placement of the rail. Assuming the race leader was positioned on the rail at the top of the home stretch, that leader was required by rule to maintain that line (or perhaps move further out), while horses behind the leader could be moved into the open lane and potentially pass the leader. This helped alleviate a common problem where trailing horses would be "boxed in" behind the leader and another horse to the outside, and made race results more wide open — and thus more attractive to bettors with potentially higher payoffs. Open lane racing is only used in certain jurisdictions.

In North America essential annual races include the Hambletonian for 3-year old trotters, the Little Brown Jug for 3-year-old pacers, and the Breeders Crown series of twelve races covering each of the traditional categories of age, gait and gender. The Hambletonian is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters and the Little Brown Jug is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. Important Canadian races include the North America Cup (for pacers), the Canadian Pacing Derby, and the Maple Leaf Trot. The most notable harness tracks in North America are the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, The Red Mile in Kentucky and Woodbine Racetrack and Mohawk Raceway, both in Ontario (harness racing is more popular than thoroughbred racing in Canada). Since 1947, the "United States Harness Writers" Association annually votes for the "Harness Horse of the Year." Since inception, a pacer has received the honor 31 times and a trotter 26 times.

The foremost harness racing nations in Europe are France, Italy and Sweden, and the sport is fairly popular in most northern European countries. Almost all races in Europe are trotting races. Saddled events, though less frequent, are not considered exceptional. The Prix d'Amerique at Vincennes hippodrome near Paris, France is widely considered the most prestigious event of the European racing year. Other notable races include the Elitloppet one-mile race in Solvalla track near Stockholm, Sweden and Gran Premio Lotteria di Agnano in Naples, Italy. An annual Grand Circuit tour for the top trotters includes several prestigious races across the continent. All leading racing nations also host their own highly regarded premier events for young horses.

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has been evolving and passed a long way to us through the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. Every so often it is inseparably associated with gambling. The customary nickname for horse racing is The Sport of Kings.

The technique of racing, the distances and the type of events differs very much by the country in which the race is taking place, and many countries offer various types of horse races. In the United States, races can occur on flat surfaces of either dirt, polytrack, or grass, generally Thoroughbred racing; other tracks offer Quarter Horse racing and harness racing, or combinations of these three types of racing. Racing with other breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. American Thoroughbred races are run at a wide variety of distances, most commonly from 5 furlongs to 1½ miles (2414 m); with this in mind, breeders of Thoroughbred race horses attempt to breed horses that excel at a particular distance.

One of the main styles of horse racing, which is widespread and very popular all around the world, is Thoroughbred racing. Harness racing is also popular in the eastern United States and more popular than Thoroughbred racing in Canada and parts of Europe. Quarter horse racing is also popular in the western United States and Florida. Racing with purebred Arabian horses exists in several states in the United States, as well as in most of Europe and the Middle East. The breeding, training and racing of horses in many countries is now a significant economic activity as, to a greater extent, is the gambling industry which is largely supported by it. Exceptional horses can win millions of dollars and make millions more by providing stud services, such as horse breeding.

The origins of horse racing in the United States and on the North American continent goes with the founding of another course named Newmarket - on the Salisbury Plains section of what is nowadays known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County, New York region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City. The South Westbury section is better known as Salisbury.

Chief horse racetracks in the US were built at Saratoga Springs, New York in 1863 and at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., opened in 1875. 1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park in Elmont, New York (just outside New York City - on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains). What's interesting, its mile and a half main track is one of the biggest dirt thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand. Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. What is more, the Hall of Fame honors remarkable horses, jockeys, owners and trainers.