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A Guide to Harness Racing

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  • Australian Harness Racing

    There might be lots of attention on the Thoroughbreds here in Australia – especially when the Spring Season rolls around and the excitement builds ahead of the Melbourne Cup – but there’s more to Racing in Australia than the million-dollar horses of the Aga Khan and Gai Waterhouse. Harness Racing is one of Australia’s great loves, and it always has been. Trotting has a long and storied history in Australia – the first recorded meet was all the way back in 1810 at Parramatta, and by the 1860s there were clubs specifically devoted to Harness Racing.

    As far back as 1890, meets were held under electric lights, and they were already well attended. Part of the appeal of Trotting for early Australian fans was that anyone with a horse and sulky could enter, but at the start of the 20th century the Harness Racing industry was so big that the Government stepped in to make things official, and nowadays it’s a carefully regulated industry – but still a big one. With evening meetings and a great atmosphere at the track, you can see why Harness Racing has always been popular, and will likely stay that way. It helps, of course, that Harness Racing is great to watch, and regularly features very tight finishes.

    There are plenty of places to go and enjoy the Trotting here in Australia, too, with 91 tracks dotted around the country, and there are lots of people working in the industry: around 4000 trainers and nearly 3000 drivers graft hard week in week out to keep around 5000 Standardbred horses ready to race. And one of the great things about Harness Racing here in Australia is the proximity of the Kiwis, who have their own thriving Trotting scene – there’s a simmering rivalry to keep everything interesting, and the biggest prizes in Australian Harness Racing are those that are open to competitors from both New Zealand and Australia.

    What is Harness Racing?

    So what is Harness Racing? If you’re Australian, you might well have been down to a track to see the action first hand – and if you haven’t, we can’t recommend it enough! Each runner is effectively a team comprised of a driver in a ‘Sulky’ (they’re also called ‘Gigs’ or ‘Bikes’) and a horse. The drivers are professionals these days, and they’re incredibly skilful behind a Standardbred horse in the harness that gives Trotting its official name. Horses compete in two different categories: Pacers and Trotters.

    The distinction is in the horse’s gait, and it’s easier to see than to explain, but it’s about the legs that the horse moves at the same time: Pacers move both legs on the same side at the same time, where Trotters move diagonal pairs. Trotters can enter Pacing events, but not the other way around – and the gait is important for the race, and especially from a punter’s point of view, because one of the things that can really slow a sulky down is the horse breaking gait. If that happens – and it does happen, with horses being the loyal, enthusiastic and competitive beasts they are – then the team has to move to the outside lane until the right gait is re-established. It can turn a race, and as a punter, it’s worth knowing that Pacers are not only quicker, but less likely to break stride.

    One of the reasons for that is the ‘hobbles’ that are part of the harness kit – straps that help the horse stick to its gait. Pacers have always worn hobbles, but they’re becoming more common for Trotters these days, too.

    Other features of Australian Harness Racing – features that might be slightly different to Harness Racing in the U.S. or the U.K. – include bigger fields and metric measurements. Most races in Australia are run over 1609 metres (a mile, apparently) or longer distances, giving things plenty of time to get settled before the inevitable tense sprint for the line. More runners are typically seen in each race here in Australia than there would be elsewhere, maybe because the tracks are set up to take more runners, but mostly because more runners is likely to mean a more entertaining and open race for punters to enjoy.

    Another fairly recent innovation that you’ll see in Australia and New Zealand Harness racing is the Harness Sprint Lane (they call it the Passing Lane in New Zealand) – this is an innovation to make the final straight even more exciting, with the Sprint Lane added on the inside for the last straight, letting more drivers find space to race for the finish.

    The kit might not have changed all that much in recent times (a sulky in 2014 still looks pretty much like a sulky did in 1914, though you see more go-faster colour schemes now!), but the tracks have definitely changed. A large part of Trotting’s enduring appeal for so many Australians is definitely the sport itself, and especially the tightness of so many finishes. But the whole night out is a great experience, and that has to be a factor in the sport’s immense popularity, as well. Since the founding of the first official club, the New South Wales Trotting Club, back in 1902, many have emerged, and there are some famous places on the list: Globe Derby Park in Adelaide, Albion Park, Queensland, Gloucester Park in Perth, and the now-closed Moonee Valley in Melbourne. There are weekly events at most of Australia’s Trotting tracks, and they are all a great night out, with plenty to enjoy besides the racing.

    And alongside those weekly events, you’ve got a calendar full of high-profile races to keep up with. There are a string of Group 1 races scattered through the year at tracks all around the country, and if you can’t get down to the track to place a bet in person, they will all be featured at top betting sites like Sportsbet or BetEasy. Some of the Group 1s to look out for are the Miracle Mile, the A.G. Hunter Cup, the Chariots of Fire, the Victoria Cup, the Australian Pacing Championship, and the Australian Pacing Gold. Look out for any and all of those when you land at a betting site like Luxbet or Ladbrokes, but also make sure you’re ready for the Inter Dominion when February and March come around. That’s the highlight of the Harness Racing calendar, and it’s a two-week festival of races that culminates with the crowning of a champion Trotter and a Champion Pacer for Australasia.

    Where’s Your Money?

    Harness Racing is so popular and so well supported in Australia because it’s so exciting to watch, and because a night out at the track is so much fun. It’s popular with the punters, too – and as a punter you can approach a bet on the Trotting in the same way that you would approach a bet on the Thoroughbreds. Online bookmakers have really improved their service in recent years, and they’re your first port of call. Sites like Sportsbet, Luxbet, BetEasy, Sportingbet and Ladbrokes are your best bet (pardon the pun) – any site that has a specific Australian presence will cater to all your Harness Racing needs. The most common bets are these:

    Win – simple and popular: just pick the runner who’s going to come home first!

    Place – pick a horse you think will finish first or second, and you’ll collect your winnings. In races with eight or more runners, a third place dividend may also be available.

    Trifecta – name all the three runners, in any order, who will be the first three home.

    Quinella – pick the two runners who will finish first and second, in any order.

    Exacta – as with the Quinella, you pick the first two runners home, but with the Exacta you have to pick the right order, too.

    First Four – name the first four runners home, in the correct order.

    Quaddie – to win a big prize on a Quaddie (and it will likely be a very big prize), you need to correctly identify the winners of four separate races named by the TAB.

    BIG6 – like the Quaddie, but even harder to land (and so even more lucrative), the BIG6 needs you to select the winners of six of the races named by the TAB.

    Where To Bet on Harness Racing

    As we’ve said, for Harness Racing you’re best off with an online bookmaker who caters directly to the Australian market – those are the sites that will have the best odds for the Trotting, and the most markets. In fact, you can expect to see all the races going on all around the country covered by the bookmakers below:

    Sportsbet – arguably one of the very best betting sites in the world, Sportsbet offers a comprehensive betting service for everything from Alpine Skiing to Volleyball. And that includes every Harness Racing event.

    Luxbet – backed by Tabcorp, Luxbet is great for early markets and fixed bets on the Trotting.

    Sportingbet – probably Australia’s biggest online bookmaker, and also one of the best around for customer service. As well as all the Harness Racing betting markets you could ever want.

    Ladbrokes – a new arrival in Australia with lots of work to do to establish themselves in the opinions of punters: and that means some great specials and one-off offers for you to make the most of.

    BetEasy – another new kid on the block with plenty to prove, BetEasy is Australia-owned and based, and will give you all the Trotting markets you need.

  • Go to Harness Racing freebets.
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