Harness rules

[Fredo]

Question for all the buggy fans. What is the rule if the leader breaks stride 50 -100 ft from the wire and still wins? I've seen some shady stuff lately...

[Joel]

Question for all the buggy fans. What is the rule if the leader breaks stride 50 -100 ft from the wire and still wins? I've seen some shady stuff lately...

I believe as long as the driver follows all of the braking rules (goes to the outsidem etc.), and if he is still ahead on the wire, he wins.

I take it in order for this to happen, the horse must have been several lengths in front of the field when he broke stride?

[Masterp]

Joel, I believe you are right.

Shady is a good word for it. In the winter months when I'm bored, I try to figure out this harness stuff, and it's amazing how many times the best looking horse "breaks stride" during a race. Everytime I bet on a harness race, I tell myself that I have a gambling problem.

[Atokad]

The horse simply has to lose ground to the field and get back on stride before the wire. If the horse is still offstride at the wire, the stewards, with all the ambiguity in the world behind them, can place the horse in a spot other than first.

[Kermit]

Thought they had to lose two places? No?

[JDinSD77]

Every harness jurisdiction has somewhat different rules on breaks. In addition to what's already been posted, the big question is what happens when they break down the stretch. Most tracks place a horse that breaks withing a certain distance from the wire behind any horse that is "lapped." Lapped refers to any horse who is within the length of the breaking horse(that is from a nose back to a any spot less than a length back). BTW, Gary Siebel is the absolute master of harness knowledge. By far the nicest, most personable, most generous guy to any fan that wants to chat.

[Masterp]

I do think Gary Seibel is the man as well. He does a heck of a job on drive time and does his best to help the harness newbie.

[Njdevilsteve]

The driver needs to make a bona fide effort to pull the horse up and will be placed behind all horses that are within one length of him at the wire if he is still offstride at that point. This is true in all major jurisdictions. This is known as the "lapped on break rule."