Post by the believer on Aug 12, 2007 14:54:28 GMT -5
I found this article from 2006 that explains only some of the reasons for the fast times we are seeing !
Pacers faster, better than ever: Breeding, sulkies, race strategy
Larry Hamel
Harness horses have picked up the pace in 2006.
Times have plummeted since Jenna's Beach Boy's race-mile record of 1:47 3/5, which had stood for nearly a decade, fell earlier in the year. The capper came three weeks ago when the 1-minute, 47- second barrier fell to Holborn Hanover, who circled the Meadowlands' mile oval in 1:46 4/5 on Hambletonian Day. Miles of "48 and change," considered extraordinary a few years ago, seemingly have become commonplace.
The reasons for the startlingly fast times can be linked to breeding for speed rather than endurance, improved technology in sulkies and a change in race strategy by drivers.
"The technology for race bikes is better," driver Andy Miller said. "They're lighter and they track better ... trail behind the horse straighter. That has to account for some of the drop."
Many top drivers lean farther back in their sulkies, making for better aerodynamics and putting more weight "behind the wheels," which produces lift on the shafts (think of the wheels of the bike as the fulcrum of a lever). George Brennan, the pilot for Holborn Hanover in the 5-year-old gelding's history-making mile on Aug. 5, is a "way-backer" who sits almost horizontally in the sulky.
Then, too, the popularity with the betting public of mile or near- mile racing ovals such as the Meadowlands (mile) in New Jersey and Woodbine and Mohawk (both 7/8ths) in Canada -- and the migration of lucrative stakes races to those venues -- have caused the major breeding operations to emphasize speed.
Pacers faster, better than ever: Breeding, sulkies, race strategy
Larry Hamel
Harness horses have picked up the pace in 2006.
Times have plummeted since Jenna's Beach Boy's race-mile record of 1:47 3/5, which had stood for nearly a decade, fell earlier in the year. The capper came three weeks ago when the 1-minute, 47- second barrier fell to Holborn Hanover, who circled the Meadowlands' mile oval in 1:46 4/5 on Hambletonian Day. Miles of "48 and change," considered extraordinary a few years ago, seemingly have become commonplace.
The reasons for the startlingly fast times can be linked to breeding for speed rather than endurance, improved technology in sulkies and a change in race strategy by drivers.
"The technology for race bikes is better," driver Andy Miller said. "They're lighter and they track better ... trail behind the horse straighter. That has to account for some of the drop."
Many top drivers lean farther back in their sulkies, making for better aerodynamics and putting more weight "behind the wheels," which produces lift on the shafts (think of the wheels of the bike as the fulcrum of a lever). George Brennan, the pilot for Holborn Hanover in the 5-year-old gelding's history-making mile on Aug. 5, is a "way-backer" who sits almost horizontally in the sulky.
Then, too, the popularity with the betting public of mile or near- mile racing ovals such as the Meadowlands (mile) in New Jersey and Woodbine and Mohawk (both 7/8ths) in Canada -- and the migration of lucrative stakes races to those venues -- have caused the major breeding operations to emphasize speed.