New To Harness Racing
What’s a Standardbred horse?
The Standardbred is a solid, long-bodied American horse breed, with a docile disposition, that’s most notably used for harness racing. The Standardbred name originated in 1879 by the National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders. For a horse to be considered part of the breed, specific “standards” had to be met.
The horse had to be able to trot a mile in under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Today’s Standardbreds are considerably faster, boasting under 2-minute mile times, with trotters being a few seconds slower than pacers. All Standardbred bloodlines can be traced back to one specific stallion, Hambletonian 10.
What makes it a harness race?
Harness racing is when a horse pulls a cart, known as a bike, with a driver in the sitting position. Harness races begin with a “rolling” start, where horses trot behind a mobile starting gate. Besides pulling bikes, harness racing’s most unique qualities are its racing gaits.
Standardbred gaits
A “gait” refers to how Standardbred horses actually move. There are two gait styles: the pace and the trot. Standardbreds are bred to perform a specific gait, so it’s rare that a horse will cross-compete as a trotter and pacer.
The “pacing gait” is when the horse’s front and back legs on the same side move in unison, meaning that the horse’s left front leg is moving forward while its left back leg is also moving forward. To help horses not “break stride,” which often results in the loss of a race, most pacers wear “hobbles” — straps connecting the front and back leg on each side.
The “trotter gait” is when the horse’s front and back legs alternate on each side, meaning that the horse’s left front leg is moving forward while its back right leg is moving forward. This type of gait does not require hobbles.
Within each gait style, horses are organized into classes. The faster the horse, the better the class and the larger the winner’s purse. Horses can move up and down classes but never across gait styles.
