Europe France The
Prix d'Amérique is considered to be the number-one trotting race in the world. It is held annually at the gigantic
Vincennes hippodrome in eastern
Paris late in January. The purse for the race in 2016 was 1 million euros, with approximately half of that to the winner. The horses are entered in the race based on lifetime earnings, unless they have qualified by performing well in the preceding six qualifying races.
Scandinavia and Finland ,
Finland Sweden is "the locomotive" of harness racing in Scandinavia. It is a professional all-year event, even at very high latitudes during the winter. In Sweden there are 33 racing tracks, and in
Finland 43. For comparison, there are only three thoroughbred racetracks in Sweden. One of them (
Jägersro) is a combined thoroughbred and standardbred track, while another is only used once every year. So the only "pure" thoroughbred track in Sweden is
Bro Park. At
Solvalla in the suburbs of
Stockholm the premier Standardbred mile race is held in late May every year,
Elitloppet (
the Elite race). Other important annual races are
Svenskt travkriterium, a race restricted to three-year-olds, also hosted at Solvalla and
Swedish Trotting Derby (open for the best four-year-old horses) hosted in September at
Jägersro in
Malmö. The latter race track also hosts the
Hugo Åbergs Memorial, which is an international race open for all horses. Other important harness racing arenas in Scandinavia are
Åby outside
Gothenburg,
Mantorp,
Axevalla,
Bergsåker,
Boden (almost at the
polar circle) and
Charlottenlund in Danish capital
Copenhagen. A betting game called V75 is the number one game to bet on. The winner of seven (pre-decided) races (with 12 or 15 horses) is to be picked. One single "row" is very cheap to play, but people usually play large systems, picking the winner in one or two of the races and several horses in the other races. The price for a system grows rapidly if many horses are picked in a race. Price for one "row" is 1/2
SEK (approximately 0,05 euro) but if, for instance, betting on 2, 5, 1, 7, 7, 1 and 4 horses in the seven races the price multiplies as 0.5 × 2 × 5 × 1 × 7 × 7 × 1 × 4 = 980 SEK (approximately 92 euro). The bettors win money if they get all seven, six or five horses right within the system. But the difference between picking all 7 winners and just five is huge, in terms of money to win. V75 races are of distances 1640 m ("short"), 2140 m ("normal"), 2640 m ("long") and rarely 3140 m ("extra long"). The race track's length most usually is 1000 meters (inner track) with two long sides and two curves. Horses run counterclockwise. The horses are classified by how much prize money they have gained through the entire career of the horse. The classifications are from the lowest and upwards: • Class III • Class II • Class I • Bronze division • Silver division • Gold division • There is also a seventh class, for mares only. But mares also belong to one of the other six classifications. , Finland in 2011. In the foreground Tuomo Ojanperä and the warm-blooded Sweet Sunrise. Stallions (and castrated geldings) are considered a little better in general. In pure mare horse races, horses from higher classification get 20, 40 or up to 60 meter extra to run. Distance addition occurs also in races between classes. An example of such a race could be Silver division against Class II. In such a case the Silver Division horses must run 60 m behind the less experienced Class II horses. Some races use the mobile starting gate as seen in the United States. Other races (for up to 16 horses) use a circular starting system. Horses with post positions 1 to 5 are in the first wave, 6-12 or 15 are in the second wave. In volt start good starting numbers (which automatically turn into certain positions) are 1, 3 and 5 (slightly better than 2 and 4). But numbers 6 and 7 (who start in the second volt together with number 8 and higher) may get up a better speed after the turn-around but before the starting whistle sounds. Horses may have different initial speed, but must not exceed the starting line before the start signal sounds. Horses number 6 and 7 can both get a better speed at the starting line, and there are no horses in front of them. Due to this number 6 and number 7 are known as "running tracks" at volt starting. Horses 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, 14, 15 have all horses in front of them. But to get advantage of the "running tracks" the horse must be "a fast starter". The start of the races and the starting position (which equals a certain number as explained previously) are indeed important, independent of the start method. A very good horse in a race with weak opponents but with a bad start number (like 12 or higher) may not become the prime favorite due to the bad starting position, especially at short distance. After the start the drivers fight to get a good
running position. How well this succeeds depends on the horse, the
starting position and how the opponents drive their horses. Due to the sulky width and the oval race track overtaking is a far more difficult maneuver to achieve, in comparison with gallop racing. The "running position fight" during the start and the beginning of the race usually ends in the first turn. After the initial fight for a good running position, the horses usually form two rows or tracks. Good
running positions are the leading position of the inner track or the second (or third) place in the outer track. This is explained by the fact that the outer track is close to 15 meters longer per lap, front running is always heavier compared with just follow behind (just like in cycling). Positions in the inner track behind the leader may appear the best. But as described before, overtaking is not an easy maneuver. And horses in the inner track may very well be trapped all the way to the finish, due to the horses and sulkies in the outer track. On the other hand, if an opening in the outer track appears close to the finish line, such a horse has had "an easy ride" with much strength left to give. The leading position of the outer track, also known as the position of "death", is a very hard position to run and only very strong horses can win from this position. If a horse completes the race from the "death" position, commentators often point that out when announcing the KM pace of the horse. On short distances (1640 meters), the horse that gets the leading position of the inner track has a very good chance to be the winner. At longer races (with rather even competitors) running positions like second or third in the outer track have good chances, especially if the inner track horses get trapped behind a weakening front horse. Though all kind of trot betting in terms of money, is the most popular type of betting in Sweden, attendances at the races do not correspond to this. Even when "the V75 circuit comes to town" attendance rarely exceeds 5000 people. Larger crowds only gather at the biggest races. Trot racing as a sport is often considered dull, but when combined with betting it can rapidly get interesting. The huge popularity of trot betting in Sweden "spills over" to the neighboring
Norway (11 racing tracks),
Finland (43) and
Denmark (9).
Ireland In Ireland, sulky racing is today associated with the
Traveller community, and some with criminal associations, whereby illegal racing takes place on public roads.
Other countries in Europe Trotting sport and betting also exist in
Austria,
Belgium,
Germany,
Hungary,
Serbia,
Italy, the
Netherlands,
Malta,
Russia,
United Kingdom and
Estonia. In Italy "trotto" is as popular as "galoppo".
North America 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.
Australia and New Zealand Australian racing differs from
North American racing in that
metric distances are used, generally above the equivalent of one mile and horses are classed by how many wins they have. Another large difference is that in
Australian racing the leader does not have to hand up the lead to any horse that challenges, often leaving a horse parked outside the leader in the "
death seat" or simply "the death" (known as "facing the breeze" in New Zealand), as this horse covers more ground than the leader. Australian racing generally has more horses in each race; a field of 12 or 13 is not uncommon. This generally means that with the smaller tracks a "three-wide train" starts as the field gets the bell at signal their final lap. New Zealand racing is quite similar to that of Australia. Many horses are able to easily "cross the
Tasman" and compete as well on either side of the sea that separates Australia and New Zealand. In both New Zealand and Australia the same system of an 'open lane' operates, although in Australia it is called a 'sprint lane' and in New Zealand a 'passing lane'. These lanes do not operate on all tracks and have been a point of argument between many industry participants. Modern Starting gates used in Australia now include Auto start. This innovation allows the starter to concentrate on the actual horse's positioning during the "score up". The modern Starting gates use only a driver for steering the vehicle and a starter in the rear to observe the race and call a false start if required. The start speed, acceleration, score up distance, and gate closing are controlled via a computer system, which takes control of the vehicle and provides a printout at the end of the score up. Some harness racing clubs have been granted additional funds for the installation of the AVA computerised mobile barriers. In Australia and New Zealand, harness racing is conducted both on smaller rural tracks and at major city venues, creating the opportunity for even the hobby-trainer to make it into the big-time if they have an exceptional horse. The major tracks include Gloucester Park (Perth),
Globe Derby Park (Adelaide) Albion Park (Brisbane),
Menangle Park Paceway (Sydney),
Melton Entertainment Park (Melbourne),
Alexandra Park (Auckland) and
Addington Raceway (Christchurch). The breeding and racing of standardbred horses is both a dedicated pastime and profession for participants in the industry. The premier events can now have prizemoney exceeding AUD 1 million and recent upgrades to some venues has created world-class facilities for harness racing. Betting revenues have come under pressure from both thoroughbred racing and from expanding opportunities in greyhound racing - however 'the trots' still has a dedicated following and a rich history to enjoy. Friday night is generally regarded as the premier trotting night although key events will enjoy broader weekend billing. == Important races ==