There has been a long tradition of trotting races in America and the Standardbred is without a doubt one of the world's fastest and classiest trotters. The breed derived its name in 1879 when a standard was set for entry on the trotting register. The standard called for horses able to trot one mile in two and a half minutes, or for horses to pace one mile in two minutes and 25 seconds. Today, trotting speeds have greatly increased, through selective breeding, and it is now not uncommon for horses to cover a mile in less than two minutes. Interestingly, in America there is a much larger percentage of pacers, approxiamately 4 to 1, while in Europe, there is still a greater number of diagonal trtters. This may indicate an early infusion of Spanish Jennet in the development of the American trotter, which, although now extinct, was a naturally gaited animal which laterally paced.
The history of the Standardbred goes back o the 18th century, and the English Thoroughbred Messenger. Messenger was imported to America in 1788, after a succesful career on the flat in England. Messenger was of admirable ancestry, tracing back to all three of the foundation sires of the Thoroughbred, and also having a percentage of the indomitable Norfolk Roadstre blood. Messenger spent 20 years at stud and fathered over 600 foals. He was mated with various mares, including the Narragansett Pacers and Canadian Pacers, both now extinct, and Morgan mares. One of Messenger's descendants was a horse called Hambletonian, foaled 1849, which went on to become the foundation sire for the modern Standardbred breed. Hambletonian fathered four stallions, to which almost every modern Standardbred can be traced - George Wilkes, Dictator, Happy Medium and Electioneer.
The standardbred has a good temperment, and is willing and naturally competitive. They are associated with the Eastern states, but are now bred throughout the country. They are similiar to the Thoroughbred but are more robust and sturdy with incredibly hard and strong legs and feet. They are powerfully built, and tend to be higher in the croup than the withers, which lends a propulsive thrust to the quarters. They are long through the back, with a good depth of girth and plenty of room for heart and lung expansion.