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Preparing to race the Standardbred

© Kimberly Rinker

Standardbred horsers, whether they are performing for a night of pari-mutuel harness racing at a major race track, or for an afternoon at the county fair tracks, are "warmed-up" thoroughly before they are raced. Some have had as many as three warm-up miles before they race, while others only go as little as a two-mile warm-up session.

The reason for the variances in these warm-up trips? Individual warming-up patterns vary according to the conditioning beliefs of the trainers, and the known habits of their horses. Sluggish horses, for instance, may need additional miles to get them tuned up for racing, while nervous or frail horses may be warmed-up just a couple of miles in order to conserve their strength and piece of mind.

In general, however, with variations allowed for trainers and horses, a trotter or pacer is usually prepared for his racing assignment in the same fashion.

Preparation for a race usually begins the morning the horse is to be raced. Depending upon the trainer's wishes, some horses are given smaller meals on race days, or they may be deprived of their hay ration for that day until after they race. If a horse is scheduled to race early on the evening's card, then he or she is usually fed at noon and not given their night feed until many hours after they have raced and been completely cooled out. Some trainers prefer not to feed any grain until the next morning, allowed the horse to just eat hay after he races.

The horse's caretaker/groom ideally has cleaned and oiled his charge's harness and has prepared a "race" bucket. This bucket will contain all the items necessary for the race: a sponge, sweat scraper, blanket clamps, a cooler or two and possibly a sweat sheet, along with tape, a tounge tie, and any boots or head-poles that a horse may wear.

The groom will then brush and curry thte horse, removing any dirt from his coat, mane and tail. He will also pick his hooves clean, removing dirt, manure, straw and hoof packing. Depending upon the trainer, the horse will either be hooked to a jog cart or a racing sulky after he is harnessed and then taken to the detention paddock to wait for his race.

Approximately two hours prior to race post time, the horse will go his first warm-up trip. Often, if the horse is an aged horse or an experienced competitor, he will only go one warm-up trip, usually just an hour prior to post.

The copyright of the article Preparing to race the Standardbred in Standardbred Horses is owned by Kimberly Rinker. Permission to republish Preparing to race the Standardbred in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.