Will harness racing ever return to the Olympics?

Harness Racing was part of The Olympic Games in the 7^th Century BC. Back then, they were called Chariot Races.

Modern harness racing can be traced back to Europe in the 16^th Century, and the sport became widely popular in North America starting two-hundred years ago. This year, break dancing, a dance style that came out of The Bronx, New York, in the 1970s has been added as an Olympic event. I kid you not. In this year’s Olympic Games, it is simply called, Breaking.

Will harness racing ever return to the Olympics? Some of our equine friends perform there in dressage competitions.

It is ironic that in this year’s home country for the Olympics, France, harness racing is wildly popular. But nary a harness racing event is in The Games. One might also consider the fact that equine events of the hoi polloi are acceptable, but not the horse events of the common man.

Why not our boys and girls of summer?

One would think that in this day and age, a sport in which only the well-off participate, should not be highlighted over the sport that was created for the common man. Whether or not harness racing is still the sport of the people is food for thought of another day. The days of Dan Patch touring the country so that the people could see him are long gone.

There is another wrinkle to this year’s Olympic Games that may have a huge impact on harness racing. Sports betting has exploded in The United States, and for the first time, millions of Americans will be able to legally wager on The Olympic Games.

There are almost 50 Olympic categories – including break dancing – Olympic Schedule | Paris 2024 – and many hard-core gamblers are champing at the bit, so to speak, to get in on the action. But why would so many gamblers with so little knowledge of the more than 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries be anxious to wager? The answer is in those aforementioned numbers. Think of the odds on these events.

I expect numerous 1,000-1 opportunities, not to mention prop bets and parlays which will send odds to record heights.

Harness racing handle is down in the United States by approximately 5% compared to last year.  Some believe that the popularity of sports betting in America is a big part of the reason. As more and more American states add sports betting to the menu of collecting taxes, the Olympics comes to the fore during the heart of the harness racing season.

Because more states allowed sports betting, $23.1 billion was bet on the last Super Bowl. That was a 35% increase over the previous year.

FanDuel, one of the leading US sportsbooks, said in a press release that it wrote more than 14 million Super Bowl bets for $307 million in handle on the game. More than 2.5 million active FanDuel users placed at least one bet on the game. Plus, FanDuel does not operate in Nevada.

“Super Bowl LVIII proved to be a record-setting day for FanDuel,” the release said.

How much money was bet on 2024 Super Bowl? Sporting News

Almost as much was bet on basketball’s March Madness, but that is more than one game. Last year $15.5 billion wagered on the tournament, and $16 billion on the final.

College Basketball’s March Madness Betting By The Numbers – Forbes Betting

The harness racing elite appear to believe that making the harness races a benefactor of these wages is good for the sport. After all, increasing the sports wagering handle at racetracks where you can also bet on the races, and increasing the sports wagering handle on sites that also take wagers on the harness races is good. The fact that most of America has a finite amount of wagering power has little relevance.

Countering this argument is the fact that almost 50% of the dollars (and cryptocurrencies?) will surely be reinvested in harness racing because… it is there. Ah, but there is that wretched vigorish. For you horse betting fans, the vigorish is the equivalent of take-out from the pools. It is the vigorish that is the slow torture of the sports bettor.

But what about The Olympics? Will Americans place wagers on sports in which most of them are clueless of the talent in the rest of world? I expect they will.

 Many of harness racing’s most noteworthy races will occur while The Olympic games are going on. What will the impact be on the handle in The United States?

• Will those wagering on The Olympics do a natural slide over to harness racing opportunities on the same platform since they are already wagering?
• Will those familiar with Olympic events see this harness racing thing on their wagering sites and check it out for the first time?
• Will there be little wagering on The Olympics in the United States since there is no history on which to fall back?
• Will harness racing handle suffer?

Finally, it is time to tell the truth, harness racing fans. You know you all think about harness racing strategies when you see the distance racing. “Don’t go wide on the turn, you idiot. Stay behind your cover. Why are you moving so early?”

Meanwhile, my spies tell me that there is this one young break dancer who has been working out behind closed doors in a barn in Bangladesh who might be one of the greatest ever. If you people promise to keep her name to yourselves, I might let you in on this 100-1 special. Nah, I don’t trust any of you. I’m keeping this one to myself.

Power to the punter.

by Gil Winston, for Harnesslink