Harness racing Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, occupied by a driver, although in Europe, jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters ("trot monté" in French) is also conducted. In North America, harness races are restricted to Standardbred horses, although European racehorses may also be French Trotters or Russian Trotters, or have mixed ancestry with lineages from multiple breeds. Orlov Trotters race separately in Russia. The light cold-blooded Coldblood trotters and Finnhorses race separately in Finland,
Harness saddle the 'belly band'; both attach to loops around the shafts or to a pole. The back band may be fixed or it may be free to slide through the saddle from side to side; it is normally fixed for a four-wheeled vehicle with independently hinged shafts, but sliding for a vehicle with rigid shafts (such as a two-wheeled cart). This allows the horse to twist in the shafts on a side-slope. Certain designs of harness saddle have a groove in the top, into which fits a chain that is hooked to the shafts. The belly band also hooks onto the