Harness: Time to turn down the heat in the Hambletonian

There is something exclusively ‘harness racing’ about performers racing multiple times in one day to crown a champion. Heat racing speaks to the core of the sport and allows our Standardbreds to display their grit, determination, endurance, resiliency and downright toughness.

When the Hambletonian Society announced in January of 2012 that commencing the following year it would return to same-day heat racing for the Hambletonian, using the format that was in place from 1991 to 1997, I was one of the biggest cheerleaders. I love heat racing!

I love the idea of watching horses race and being able to use what I saw in their first appearance to pluck out a winner later that day. I love the idea that our horses are hardy enough to compete multiple times in a day. I love the atmosphere that comes with heat racing and the chatter in the crowd discussing what they saw and how the final will play out an hour or so later. I love the sense of history that goes along with a two-heat winner.

All the above said, when it comes to the Hambletonian, I’ve changed my mind. More accurately, I’ve come to my senses and stopped thinking with my heart.

There really are no measurable benefits to racing heats in the Hambletonian. Think about it . . .

All of the reasons above why I really love heat racing are aesthetic. Sure, they make for nice theater in theory, but none of the perceived benefits provides any true value.

Yeah, heat racing can be exciting, but the prestige of winning the Hambletonian has nothing to do with heat racing. The final of the Hambletonian would still be a spectacle if it was contested separate from the eliminations and the winning horse would still be on the path to a potential championship season and stallion duty.

It’s great that we display how durable the Standardbred is by racing twice, but how does that help the horse or the game? Certainly the horses would be better off racing just once. We’ve seen far too often horses get worn down after a two-heat experience.

Perhaps the biggest reason to remove the aspect of heats from the Hambletonian is the handle. The host track (The Meadowlands, which is ironically the entity that seems to want heat racing) is losing about $500,000 in total handle every year due to the current format. This is ascribable to a variety of reasons:

► Some off-track locations don’t accept wagering on heat racing.

► It has proven difficult to get ADWs and even on-track patrons the proper information in a timely manner.

► Since the horses aren’t decided until about an hour before the race, no vertical wagers (Pick 4, etc.) are permitted.

From a personal standpoint, it is much easier to cover the Hambletonian when it is contested in heats. We know most of the horses well before the draw and can work on a few stories 7-10 days before the race. There are no elimination races to cover the week prior and thus immediacy to formulate a plan as horses get eliminated.

I could make the case that in terms of media coverage, eliminations and a final work much better. First, it provides three opportunities for the race to make news: eliminations night; post position draw; day of the final. Additionally, news outlets can focus on just 10 horses vying to win the most prestigious race in the sport rather than upwards of 20 or more potential contenders.

I will agree that the build-up which comes from a two-heat race and the atmosphere of the crowd is something special, but I just don’t think it exists that same way for the Hambletonian as it does for say the Little Brown Jug.

For me, racing two heats in the Jug is part of the Middle America fair racing experience. I’m travelling from New York to Ohio to be part of that down-home environment for a day or two and get that grassroots feel of the sport I love. At the more modern Meadowlands facility with the steel skyline of Manhattan in the backdrop, perhaps fittingly, history should be set aside for what simply makes more sense logically and economically.

There will be no tears shed on my part if heat racing remains a staple of the Hambletonian for years to come. Just like I won’t cry bloody murder that 12-horse fields are required to go a distance of 1-1/8 miles in Meadowlands stakes even though the added distance only hurts those starting in the second tier. In the end, I only want what is best for the horses and the sport as a whole, and heat racing in the Hambletonian no longer seems to fit that mission statement.