Origins of the Standardbred:
The Standardbred horse originated from an English grey Thoroughbred named Messenger, who was foaled in 1780 and sent to America in 1788. His sire, Mambrino was an excellent trotter who won 10 of his 16 starts. Despite these genes, Messenger was not a stayer as he could barely finish two miles. However his stud record was exceptional, with the stallion servicing over 100 mares a season. The next horse to contribute to the Standardbred breed was Messenger’s descendant Hambletonian. Foaled in 1849, Hambletonian and his mother were purchased by William Rysdyk who described the foal as “cat hunched” and ugly. Yet as the stallion grew, his ability to trot and pace at high speeds made Hambletonian the most popular stallion in the 19th Century. Now, his bloodlines are so strong that 99 per cent of Standardbreds originate from Hambletonian.
Not as tall of Thoroughbreds, the Standardbred averages 15 hands high and possesses a larger head and higher neck. The breed’s legs are shorter and have more muscle while their body is longer. The term Standardbred originates from when eligible horses were required to trot one mile in 2 minutes 30 seconds or less. If the horse could perform this, they were registered as a Standardbred. One of the benefits of Standardbreds is that they have an excellent temperament and unlike their cousin the Thoroughbred, they are not as hot headed.
The Beginning of Harness Racing:
The use of chariots during the Roman Empire is marked as the first stages of harness racing when horses and chariots were used to compete against each other as a spectacle for the Emperor. However the first type of trot racing began in 1554 in Holland when 3,000 horses competed in a trotting match. This contest is now titled The Golden Whip and is the most famous trotting event in the country.
In America, the first harness races took place on the road when men were travelling to and from work however by the mid 18th century trotting races were acknowledged as proper races and were taken to official race courses for competition. In the late 1800s, America introduced the Grand Circuit series however the popularity of harness racing declined once cars were invented and the need for horses decreased. It wasn’t until 1940 when the Roosevelt Raceway in New York hosted another harness race and its gaming popularity was noticed did the industry get back on its feet.
Trotting gained international fame first with France in 1836 and Australia in the 20th century. Today, trotting is most popular in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Although trotters came before pacers, the pacing industry is often more favoured by bettors as the horse’s performance is more stable and consistent.
By 1897, the 2 minute 30 second race time record had been abolished by Star Pointer, a pacer who finished the mile in two minutes and since then the time has become even shorter with many horses finishing the mile in 1 minute and 50 seconds.
Trotting in Australia:
Trotting races date back to the 1800s when men would race on public roads and then eventually moved to racetracks in the 1820s. In Hobart, the first official trot race was held in 1825. In the same decade, Edward Curr noticed the excellent pedigree of Standardbreds being foaled in Tasmania.
Until the 20th Century, trot racing flourished in all states of Australia however the Government declared all unregistered racing illegal in 1900 and consequently the New South Wales Trotting Club was established in 1902 to formalise the industry. In the same year, the famous Harold Park was built in Sydney and declared the “best lit trotting track in the world”. The track was named after Childe Harold, a great sire of past trotting horses. Despite the popularity of the sport, there were still not enough horses being bred in Australia and the industry still had to import horses from North America and Europe.
The first Australian harness racing winner was Miss Kitty and in 1916 all racetracks were closed due to World War one and were not reopened until 1918 however the sport suffered for another decade. Throughout this whole time, Thoroughbred racing was increasingly in popularity and was therefore competition to the harness racing industry. Another problem was that trotting races were only being held during the day and was not attracting enough spectators to keep the revenues up. This was fixed in 1949 when night racing was introduced which attracted a large crowd of spectators every race.
On December 22, 1977, Miss Debra Wicks was the first female driver to win a harness race when she drove Darwin Boy to victory. The biggest influence to harness racing was in the early 2000s when cable and satellite broadcasting was introduced and Sky Channel began broadcasting trot races to over 2 million viewers each week.