Introduction to our sport
Harness racing is an exhilarating sport where horse and driver act in unison to pit their wits against the opposition to see which pairing comes out on top! Meanwhile the spectator gets within meters of all the thrills and spills and with a bit of luck may even finish the race better off having beaten the bookies!!
The Horses
Irish and UK harness racing horses are 'Standardbreds'. The name "Standardbred" originated because the early horses were required to reach a certain standard for the mile distance in order to be registered as part of the new breed. There are two types of standardbred seen racing in Ireland - differentiated by their 'gait' or leg movement style:
The vast majority of horses running in Ireland are pacers. Trotters are more prominent in other European countries. Any horse who "breaks" into a canter or gallop during a race must pulled back to it's correct gait and lose ground to its competitors or be disqualified from the race.
Horses are given names by which they are known for their racing lives. Names vary immensely, many predominant stables or breeders place a prefix on their horses. Many horses are also named in part after their parents.
The Driver
Harness racing is one of few sports where men and women compete on a even footing. Past results only go to prove this. An experienced driver can make all the difference between a horse winning or losing. They are expert planners who know just when to push their horse forward. They also have an innate ability of manoeuvring their horse into prime position for the run up to the line.
It is debatable whether driver weight makes any difference to the result, however it can be noted that some of the leading drivers seem to be on the small and light side.
The Equipment
The Sulky, on which the driver sits on, is one of the most important pieces of equipment for harness racing. The driver balances on the sulky with legs along the shafts to maintain equilibrium. The design of the sulky combined with the way the driver sits on it ensures optimum performance with surprisingly little handicap to the horse's performance. Sulky design and price varies and they can become very expensive, modern day sulkies only weigh around 40lbs!
The driver wears a variety of safety equipment including a body protector and helmet. They also wear their individual unique 'racing colours' so they can easily be distinguished during the race and, in most races, carry a whip.
The horses have various pieces of equipment, as shown below:
Spectator Participation
The spectators are generally very close to the action and can see all the way around the track. Meetings have on site book makers where the public can pit their wit or just take a chance with lady luck to make a profit. Betting proves only to add to the excitement of a race. A shrewd 'punter' might consider the horses positions in previous races as well as their race time. The impact of driver should also be taking into account. The 'draw' will also have some bearing. The horse drawn in pole position will start on the gate right on the inside of the track, the horse drawn two will start outside the pole position horse and so on. The lower the horses draw the better.
The Race
Races are generally started in a rolling manner - horses line up behind a mobile 'gate' which brings the competitors up to speed (around 30mph) then accelerates away on the start line to allow racing to commence.
Race distance varies, on both hard and grass track, but the standard race consists of one mile. Tracks are oval in shape to allow spectators a good view and enable drivers to pit their wits tactically. All Irish harness racing (hard) tracks are one mile in distance.
On average horses complete the mile in little over 2 minutes, hard tracks produce faster times than their grass equivalents. The very top horses come close to the 2 minute mark.
Winner Alright
As the winner and placed horses complete the race and the distances between the placings are referred to in the following terms - short head, neck, length and number of lengths. Each relate to the distance (measured in parts of the horse) between the winner and the subsequent horses completing the race. There may be times when a camera has to be used on close finishes. On occasions a 'dead heat' is declared when horses can not be split on the line. Those with skill or luck (or both!!) can go and collect their winnings once the 'all clear / right' has been announced. This means there are no steward enquiries and the result is declared.
Thanks to Dale @ Welsh-Trotting.co.uk