Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Harness Racing Program Statistics

When looking at a harness racing program, many first time race goers are often overwhelmed by the amount of information found on the pages. Besides information on the horses, such as age, color, sex and breeding, statistics can also be found on the drivers and trainers participating in the races.

What then do these numbers besides the driver's and trainer's name indicate? You'll find the answers below.

Let's take a look at one of the Odds On horses that is currently racing. Odds On Dana will work. If you study his chart on the program page, you will find his name on the upper left-hand side of his chart section, next to his race number, which is printed in very large, bold typeface. Just to the right of this number you'll see Odds On Dana's name printed in thick bold typeface, in all capital letters. As an insight, in some cases the race number is not the same as a horse's post-position number, due to several entries by one trainer in the same race. In this case the horse's post-position number will appear in much smaller letters, directly below the horse's race number.

Just above Odds On Dana's name is the name of the driver, in this case, Dave Magee, whose name appears much smaller than the horse in a lighter, more narrow typeface, but again, in all capitals. To the right of Dave's name his racing colors are listed: Red-Black-White. Right next to his color definition are a set of statistics (as an example) appearing as: (546-76-60-74-.245). The first number (546) found in the parenthesis refers to the number of pari-mutuel starts Dave has driven in that year at that particular racetrack. The second number (76) points to his wins that year, the third number (60) to his number of second-place finishes, and the third number (74) to the number of times he has finished third-all at this same racing facility.

Each track will have statistics like these, compiled on a computer system set up in North America by the United States Trotting Association (USTA). The final number (.245) is Dave's UDRS or Universal Driver Racing System-again compiled by the USTA. This figure is akin to what baseball players use as a way to monitor their batting percentages. The USTA has devised a system whereby the first, second and third-place finishes are calculated along with the number of overall starts by a driver. This is done individually at each track a reinsman drives at, and it is also compiled on an annual basis for the driver's overall percentages.

As a sidebar, some tracks vary in the information that they include about the driver. Some include both the age and the weight of the driver alongside that person's driving statistics.

When you move your eyes over to the center of the page you'll find the name of the trainer, in this case Odds On Racing's conditioner Robin Schadt. Beside Robin's name, which is in small, narrow upper and lower letter typeface, we see (106-28-16-17-.401). As in the case of the drivers, the statistics here follow the same general pattern. The first number (106) refers to Robin's total starts that year at a given track. The following three numbers (28-16-17) state her wins, second and third place finishes. The final number (.401) is her UTRS, for Universal Trainer Racing System-again these figures are all compiled by the USTA.

Directly below the trainer's name you'll find information about the horse, in the same typeface as Robin's name. In this case, for Odds On Dana we see: b h 4 by Artiscape-Nadia Lobell-No Nukes. This information first describes the horse's color (b for bay) and the horse's gender (h for horse, as opposed to g for gelding, f for filly, m for mare and r for ridgling). Next you'll find the horse's age (4) and his pedigree with the sire, or father (Artiscape) listed first, then the dam, mother or broodmare (Nadia Lobell), and then the sire (No Nukes) of the dam, typically known as the broodmare sire.

Directly below the horse's information will be the horse's owner and his or her resident city, in this case Odds On Racing, Crete, Illinois. If you move your eye's further over to the right-hand side of the page, on the same line as the owner's information, you'll find the breeder of the horse clearly marked. In Odds On Dana's case, it reads as follows: Breeder-W J Perretti, NJ. This signifies that Odds On Dana was bred by William J Perretti and that he was foaled in New Jersey.

The United States Trotting Association keeps statistics on every registered trainer and driver in North America, as well as incidental information. They also monitor every horse that is bred and foaled throughout the United States. For a fee, anyone can subscribe to their Pathway System, which provides up-to-date information on horses nationwide. It is an extremely useful tool for the serious breeder, horseman, harness journalist or fan.