page_title: Sport in Finland
section_title: Harness racing
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in Finland / Popular sports in Finland / Harness racing
caption_attribution_description: This file was uploaded with Commonist. Ravikuningatar title winner 9 years old I.P. Vipotiina, driven by Pertti Puikkonen, dashes towards a win and a new Finnish record of Finnhorse mares.
context_page_description: Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly. Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. In spectator attendance, harness racing comes right after ice hockey in popularity.
  The most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, nordic walking, running and skiing.
context_section_description: Harness racing in Finland is characterised by the use of the coldblood breed Finnhorse along with modern light trotters such as the Standardbred. In lack of gallop racing culture, harness racing is the main equestrian sport in Finland. Horses used for harness racing in Finland are exclusively trotters.
  Racing back home from church had been a tradition long before the first organised race was held in 1817. Modern racing started in the 1960s, when light breeds were allowed to enter the sport and Parimutuel betting gained foothold as pastime. Nowadays harness racing remains popular, with the main events gathering tens of thousands of spectators in the country with a population of some 5 million.
caption: Pertti Puikkonen driving two-time Ravikuningatar title winner I.P. Vipotiina at Finland's main race track in Vermo.
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