Giwner: Should Harness elimination races switch to time trials?

While I’m a standardbred racing diehard, I do find myself watching (and at times wagering) on horses of a different breed. Recently while watching Quarter Horse racing from Los Alamitos, a thought entered my head.

Why can’t we have time trials instead of eliminations?

So, 29 horses entered the elimination round of the North America Cup and they were separated into three divisions. That’s fine. Normally the top three finishers from each division and a fourth-place finisher drawn by lot would advance to the final. Why? Don’t we want the best horses, which typically means the fastest horses, in the final?

What if the 29 horses are ranked not by finish position but by final time? The top 10 fastest horses advance to the final. In the event of a tie, we could either draw by lot or use the horse with the highest career earnings.

What does the time system accomplish?

1) Very good horses which are drawn into a tougher elimination are now afforded a better opportunity to make the final via a strong time.

2) There is a greater incentive for horses to go all-out in an elimination because if they don’t, they could be sitting on the sidelines during the final.

3) We get the fastest horses racing in the final. You can no longer “steal” a race to earn a seat in the final. We are now rewarding the horses which produce at the highest level.

How would the time trial system have affected the 2017 North America Cup final field?

Only winner Downbytheseaside from the first elimination would’ve qualified on time. The top five from elimination No. 2, including Normandy Beach (who didn’t make the final), would have gone in the C$1,000,000 final. The third elimination would have seen the top three, as is the norm, make the final. Interestingly there would have been a three-way tie for the tenth spot with Hurricane Beach, Beyond Delight and Western Hill all finishing in a final time of 1:51 1/5.

What would the field look like for the 2018 Cup Final if we used the time trial system?

Stay Hungry (1:50), Done Well (1:50), Hayden Hanover (1:50), Summer Travel (1:50 1/5), Lather Up (1:49 2/5), St Lads Neptune (1:50) and Hitman Hill (1:50) would have earned guaranteed spots on the gate. The final three spots would be between Wes Delight, Nutcracker Sweet, Lost In Time and Courtly Choice. All four finished with a 1:50 2/5 final clocking.

While we can look back and see how things would’ve shaken out, one can assume that these races may have produced faster fractions and different results if final time was the sole determiner for which horses would be racing for the big money the following week.

I can’t say definitively whether the time trial system would work for harness racing, but logically it should result in more action during elimination races. I’d love to see a stakes race give it a try.