Harness racing in Australia

Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.

Harness racing in Australia is conducted with Standardbred horses racing around a track while pulling a driver in a two wheeled cart called a "sulky", "gig" or "bike". Standardbred racehorses compete in two gaits, pacing and trotting, and trotters may enter pacing events, but not vice versa. Pacers contest 80% to 90% of Australian harness races. Races are conducted in an anti clockwise direction generally over distances from 1,609 metres (1 mile) to 2,650 metres, although some races such as the A G Hunter Cup are run over longer distances. Harness racing tracks typically measure from 700 to 1,000 metres. Racing is administered by Harness Racing Australia (HRA) (formerly known as the Australian Harness Racing Council), with each State's Principal Racing Authority agreeing to abide by, and to enforce the rules and regulations. Race meetings are often conducted at night, with many major metropolitan meetings held on Friday and Saturday nights. Standardbred racing in Australia differs slightly from American racing, in that it uses the metric system to measure distances and there are often more starters in a race. Races are started in one of two ways, either from behind a mobile barrier, using a mobile start or behind tapes from a standing start. The mobile barrier is usually a car or ute with two long arms, behind which the horses line up before moving to the starting line. The barrier may cover the entire track and in some cases the mobile can be ten horses wide. When the wings of the gate swing back, the starting vehicle speeds off, thus releasing the horses. This is the most common method of starting pacers and trotters in Australia. The Australian International Design Awards winning AVA Integrity Mobile starting gates are used in Australia and include auto start. This innovation allows the starter to concentrate on the horses and contributes to integrity and fairness 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. A standing start is made where horses stand flat footed behind an elastic tape that is connected across the track. Usually there are multiple tapes across the track at 10 or 5 metre intervals; this allows handicappers to handicap horses. This may be done on wins in certain classes or on a discretionary basis. Both pacers and trotters races are conducted from standing starts.

Harness racing became a popular sport as few people could afford the expense of a hack, let alone a Thoroughbred racehorse, whereas most families had a horse which could be driven as well as ridden. Initially trotting events were scheduled for Trotting under saddle and Hack trots. Various allowances were made for horses measuring under 15 hands 1 inch, too. In 1893 hopples were used for the first time in a race at a Kensington, New South Wales meeting on the imported gelding, Plain Bill. Early in the twentieth century races for trotters drawing light carts or high two wheeled sulkies were introduced and later specially designed light, smaller wheeled gigs were used. He was by Mozart (GB) from a mare by te same Mozart. This gelding was able to maintain a good speed while racing free legged, i. e. unhoppled, and was the best Australian bred harness horse up until the 1870s. Andrew Town of Richmond, New South Wales, imported the Kentucky bred, Childe Harold (by Harold) in 1882 for £3,935. Childe Harold had won in 1874 the International Trot at Liverpool, England. In 1879, he won an important race in France, and he was then taken on a tour of the Continent. In that year, he won races in Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany and also in Russia, where he won two big trotting events. This stallion produced superior quality trotters and 45 of his sons became sires. Childe Harold's name can still be found in some of today's Standardbred pedigrees. Harold Park was named in honour of Childe Harold. Globe Derby, foaled 1910 in Australia, was the champion pacer of his day and then went on to become a Leading Australian Sire for twelve successive seasons and still has present day descendants racing. In 1952 at Harold Park Avian Derby became the first two minute pacer in Australia. Ribands broke the two minute mile in 1954 at Harold Park in a time trial of 1:58.7. He raced later in America where he took his total of wins to 41 and earnings to $82,385. In 1958 Edgar Tatlow imported Meadow Vance (USA) by Adios from Subway by Billy Direct, who sired 328 winners and was the first Australian sire to get 100 credits under 2:10. Meadow Vance was also an outstanding broodmare sire. In 1963 Cardigan Bay from New Zealand, one of the truly great Standardbred racehorses, won the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship final in Adelaide before going to America. There he became the ninth horse worldwide to win one million dollars, (the first eight were Thoroughbreds). The dual gaited, Mount Eden (1966) won eight of his eleven starts including, six successive races as a three year old (3yo), shattering a series of State, Australian and World Records in the process, including the world record 2:04.0 for a 3yo over 1½ miles (1970). His owners later accepted an American offer of $300,000, at that time the highest price paid for an Australian horse – Standardbred or Thoroughbred. Mount Eden was unraced in America owing to injury and retired to stud there but he was poorly patronized and returned to Western Australia. Maori's Idol became the first Australian trotter to break two minutes with a time of 1:59.3. on 19 November 1977 at Moonee Valley. He was one of Australia's greatest trotters and he won 24 successive races before placing in the 1978 Melbourne Inter Dominion Final. Popular Alm (1976 2000) was one of the fastest pacers Australia has produced, running exceptional times over many distances. Popular Alm set a world record for a mile time trial at Moonee Valley on 13 May 1983, running 1:53.2. He raced 62 times over seven seasons for 49 wins, seven seconds and three thirds for stake earnings of $710,883

Gammalite won 16 Group one races and became the first Australian bred Standardbred horse to win a million dollars in 1983. He was also the Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit champion during 1982, 1983 and 1984, and twice won the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship Grand Final. The second highest number of wins has been recorded by the legendary Paleface Adios with a total of 108 wins, followed by Destreos with 101 wins, Village Kid with 93 wins and the trotters, True Roman, a gelding with 73 wins and the filly Scotch Notch with 67 wins and winner of two Inter Dominion trotting championships. Our Sir Vancelot (NZ) was the first horse to win three successive Inter Dominion Pacing Championships, during 1997 98 99 and also numerous Grand Circuit and Group One events. Blacks A Fake won the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 Inter Dominion Championships, making him the only four time winner of Australasia's premier harness race and the world's highest prizemoney winning pacer. Our Waikiki Beach ended a run on 19 consecutive wins on July 5, 2016 at TABcorp Park Menangle when he was beaten by Ideal Situation in a mile rate of 1:52.8. Australia was one of the last harness racing and Standardbred breeding countries to adopt Artificial Insemination (AI) as a legitimate means of equine reproduction.

Equine influenza (EI) was initially discovered in a metropolitan Sydney horse complex in late August 2007, and spread to many areas of New South Wales and southern Queensland, mainly through the pleasure horse industry. This immediately stopped all equine pursuits nationwide, but soon racing in those states without EI cases resumed. The entire racing industry was put under great pressure because of a lack of racing for Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.

Harness racing in New South Wales is controlled by Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW). New South Wales' premier track and metropolitan headquarters used to be at Harold Park Paceway, located at Glebe in Sydney until it was sold for over $150 million. This enabled a new state of the art 1,400 m track at Menangle to be built. Other major TAB tracks in the state include Newcastle, Penrith, Bankstown, Bathurst, Wagga and Young. On 17 December 2010 the last race meeting was held at Harold Park Paceway with Karloo Mick winning the final event. The winning post was sold for $10,000 to Ray Hadley with the proceeds going to Lifeline. Koala King holds the record for the most wins here, with his tally of 40.

Racing Queensland control harness racing in Queensland. The state's major metropolitan track is Albion Park Harness Racing Club in Brisbane. Clubs are also located at Redcliffe Harness Racing & Sporting Club Inc. (UBET racing twice weekly) and country racing at Marburg. The Gold Coast track closed in late 2013 to make way for Commonwealth Games facilities; the Club is still in abeyance at 2016. Queensland horses dominated many feature races around the country in 2006/2007, including the Be Good Johnny winning the Miracle Mile Pace, Blacks A Fake winning the Victoria Cup, the Inter Dominion and the M H Treuer Memorial.

Harness racing in South Australia is controlled by Harness Racing South Australia (HRSA). The state's premier track is Globe Derby Park in Adelaide. TAB covered tracks are also located at Gawler, Mount Gambier, Victor Harbour, Whyalla and Port Pirie.

Harness racing in Victoria is controlled by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV). The state's metropolitan track is Tabcorp Park, Melton. Victorian harness racing meetings are usually held seven days a week, with major provincial tracks including Mildura, Cranbourne, Bendigo, Ballarat, Kilmore, Shepparton and Swan Hill. Vicbred, an Australian racing and breeding program with annual prize money and bonuses totalling $4.35 million and HRV's Free to Race policy were designed to encourage more owners into the harness racing industry. In 2009, Harness Racing Victoria opened a new racing complex at Melton, which incorporates a 1,000 metre track as well as a host of amenities such as restaurants, gaming machines, hotel accommodation and conference facilities. The new Melton track has replaced the existing metropolitan track at Moonee Valley.

Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) is the controlling body of harness racing in Western Australia. Gloucester Park in Perth is the headquarters of harness racing in Western Australia. TAB covered tracks are also located at Bunbury, Pinjarra and Northam.