United States Trotting Association Website (2024)

FAQs

What is the phone number for the US trotting Association? ›

If you have any further questions, please call USTA Member Services at (614) 224-2291, or (877) 800-8782, and press "0."

TwinSpires offers harness racing (or standardbred racing to use the correct name) on over 35 harness tracks around the USA and Canada. With day and night racing every day of the week, you can bet online on harness racing on any of the tracks below.

To identify your Standardbred, the USTA offers a free basic information search: Free Horse ID Search If you need additional help, simply call the USTA offices. Please have as much information available as you can, including freeze brand, microchip number or lip tattoo, color, sex, white markings, etc.

Tattoo Lookup is only for Thoroughbreds. For other breeds, please contact the horse's respective breed registry. For Standardbreds, visit http://pathway.ustrotting.com/search/index.cfm. For Quarter Horses, visit www.aqha.com.

Harness-racing horses are forced to train before bone growth plates have matured, so they suffer frequent injuries. Horses are often kept in stalls as long as 22 hours a day, standing in their own urine and feces. Excessive whipping, which causes welts and/or brings blood to horses' faces, is prevalent and repeated.

For Horse Racing Nation questions, please email mail@horseracingnation.com or call 888-588-9070. For Super Screener questions, please email: superscreener@horseracingnation.com or call 888-588-9070.

Though there is no height limit for jockeys, they are usually fairly short due to the weight limits. Jockeys racing on the flat typically stand around 4 ft 10 in (147 cm) to 5 ft 7 in (170 cm). Jump jockeys are often taller, with multiple examples over 5 ft 10 in (178 cm).

Pacers are faster, accelerate quicker, and are less likely than trotters to break stride because most wear hobbles. The hobbles connect the front and rear legs on the same side of a horse to help balance and stabilize the horse on turns and maintain their gait.

Every Standardbred had to be able to trot a mile in less than two minutes and 30 seconds. Today, many Standardbreds are faster than this original standard, with several pacing the mile within 1 min, 50 sec, and trotters only a few seconds slower than pacers.

What Health Conditions Affect the Standardbred Horse? The Standardbred horse is typically a healthy and long-lived breed. The average Standardbred horse lifespan is 30 to 35 years.

How tall is the average American Standardbred horse? ›

Height and weight vary considerably but average 15 to 16 hands (60 to 64 inches [152 to 163 cm]) and 900 to 1,000 pounds (410 to 450 kg). Bay is the most common colour for Standardbreds, but brown, black, chestnut, or gray also are found.

Tattoos ensure that each horse is who it is supposed to be. Lip tattoos are applied to the gum of the inside of the upper lip and are encoded with numbers and a letter, which represent both the individual horse and the year of its birth.

The Standardbred is similar to the Thoroughbred but has stronger, shorter legs. They also have a narrower chest, long sloping shoulders, long underline and a strong back.

While horse tattoos often indicate a person's love for horses and the unbreakable bond between rider and steed, they also have a deeper meaning. The horse symbolizes freedom, courage, nobleness, heroism, spirit, and success in many ancient and modern cultures.

John McConnell Racing (@McConnellRacing) / X. Group and Graded winning racing yard based near Stamullen, Co. Meath, Ireland. Contact: johnmcconnellracing@gmail.com.

Trotting betting markets are incredibly similar to that of Horse Racing, except in the format of harness races. bettors can place a bet on the winner of a race, whether a horse is going to finish in the top three of a race and head-to-head bets, where you can bet on whether one horse will beat another.

TwinSpires offers Thoroughbred, Harness and Quarter Horse racing live, free with registration.

Legislation Overview

On September 26, 2023, Congressman Clay Higgins (LA-3) with the support of tens of thousands of horsemen, introduced the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA). The purpose of RHSA is to protect the health and welfare of horses and improve the integrity and safety of horse racing.