Harness racing in Australia Harness racing in Australia Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is an important spectator sport in Australia, with large amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 91 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
Sprung cart to accommodate a draught horse or a part bred one. The "un-sprung cart" by contrast was a simple, sturdy, one-horse, two-wheeled vehicle used by roadmen, farmers and the like for road metal or dung. Sprung cart A sprung cart was a light, one-horse (or more usually pony), two-wheeled vehicle with road springs, for the carriage of passengers on informal occasions. Its name varied according to the body mounted on it. Examples were the "ralli car", "jaunting car", "governess cart", "tax cart" (or "taxed cart") and "Whitechapel cart". Some light domestic delivery vans were also of this pattern. An Australian spring