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Harness racing is a worldwide sport where a special breed of horses, called Standardbreds, race around a track while pulling a driver in a two-wheeled cart, called a sulky. It is seen in more than 30 countries by millions of fans who wager more than $3 billion annually. The horses reach speeds of more than 30 mph.
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By the mid 18th century most European countries and the United States turned their attention to the production of harness racing horses as a specialized breed. In all of these attempts the English Thoroughbred played a significant role. In Russia, Count Orlov was at this time producing his famous Orlov Trotters, and later they were reinforced with Thoroughbred blood. One of the resultant foals was Bellfounder who, in turn, sired Messenger, the most famous and influential of all harness racing sires.
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In 1788 the great sire Messenger was brought to America where he stood at stud for 20 years. One of his sons, Hambletonian, became the father of the American Standardbred breed of harness racing horses.
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In the United States, every Standardbred horse can trace its heritage to Hambletonian, born May 5, 1849, in the tiny hamlet of Sugar Loaf, N.Y.
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The name Standardbred originated because the early trotters (pacers would not come into the picture until later) were required to reach a certain standard of time for the mile distance in order be registered as part of the new breed. The mile is still the standard distance covered in nearly every harness race.
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Today, harness racing can still be found in the hundreds of country fairs that host the sport, and the numerous parti-mutuel tracks across North America. The sport is also popular worldwide in countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and France.
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Fact: When you see an "A" or an "N" after a horse's name in the race program, this means they originated from either Australia or New Zealand!
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