Harness racing

Harness racing dates back to the 1800's in America and the legendary sire Hambletonian. The horse used for harness racing is the Standardbred, referred to as such due to the speed required for entry into the breed register. Today, the sport is becoming increasingly popular both here in Ireland and in other European countries.

In Ireland, the Irish Harness Racing Club (IHRC) which is a subsidiary of the British Harness Racing Club (BHRC) governs harness racing. The rules and regulations may be found in BHRC Rule Book, regarding registration, qualifying, dress codes for drivers, disciplinary action etc. For example, under rule 81 "all drivers must wear a skull cap, white trousers, proper racing colours and be presentable at all times".

The major race track in Ireland is Portmarnock Raceway, Co. Dublin. Other smaller tracks around the country include Aghalee, Co. Antrim and Cork. A proposed new track , Built by Mr Patrick McDonagh, is due to be opened on Easter Sunday 2002, in Coalisland. This is the only official track in Northern Ireland.

The main events taking place at the different tracks include the 2 year old Derby, 3 year old Derby, free for all races, memorial cup races etc. results are generally listed in the racing programmes and kept on record. Magazines published by the BHRC also detail the results month by month.

Links to Harness Racing WebSites