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 racing in Finland main events gathering tens of thousands of spectators in the country with a population of some 5 million. Harness racing in Finland developed from the practise of racing back home from church, and was a popular traditional recreational activity among farmers. The first organised race was held in Turku in 1817. In the 20th century, as mechanisation of agriculture in Finland reduced the need for farm horses, harness racing also started to decline. By the end of the 1950s, there were only half as many local races as had been held during the peak of harness racing's popularity in earlier