page_title: Harness racing
section_title: North America
hierarchical_section_title: Harness racing / Racing / North America
caption_attribution_description: English: Harness racing horses being exercised, Perfecta Farms, 8292 North Territorial Road, Salem Township, Michigan.
context_page_description: Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia and New Zealand, races with jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters are also conducted.
context_section_description: Almost all North American races are at a distance of one mile (1,609 m).  Most races are run on tracks constructed solely for harness racing (some with banked turns), but a few tracks conduct both harness and Thoroughbred flat racing.  North American harness horses earn a "mark" (a record), which is their fastest winning time at that distance. Harness races involve a good deal of strategy.
  Though the vast majority of races are one mile, races are contested on several different size tracks.  The most common are 1/2 mile, 5/8 mile, and 1 mile tracks.  Certain horses are better on the smaller tracks and others are better on the 1 mile tracks because there are fewer turns.  Also, on the shorter tracks early speed is important, while the longer stretch run of a mile track favors horses with late speed for come-from-behind wins.
  Usually, several drivers will contend for the lead away from 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. Harness horses accelerate during the final quarter-mile of a race. The finish of a harness race is exciting, and often extremely close. The judges have a photo-finish camera to help them determine the order of finish if needed.
  Until the 1990s harness tracks featured a rail on the inside, much like the one at Thoroughbred tracks. This "hub rail" was replaced with a row of short pylons (usually of a flexible material), which mark the inside boundary of the course. This change was mainly for safety reasons; it allows a driver to pull off to the inside of the course if necessary, such as when their horse breaks stride but they cannot move to the outside due to being boxed in, thus avoiding injury to himself, his horse, and other competitors.
  This change allowed another innovation, "open-stretch racing". (As of 2011 open-lane racing is not universal.). An additional lane is available to the inside of where the rail would have been. If the race leader is positioned on the rail at the top of the homestretch, that leader is required by rule to maintain that line (or move further out), while horses behind the leader can move into the open lane with room to pass the leader if possible. This solves a common problem, in which trailing horses are "boxed in" (behind the leader, with another horse outside). It makes races more wide-open, with potentially higher payoffs — and more attractive to bettors.
caption: Harness racing horses being exercised, Salem Township, Michigan
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