Warragul is an Australian town in the state of Victoria with a small harness racing track. The town also boasts a greyhound-racing track, showing the local enthusiasm for racing. The harness track at Warragul is a quite short, only 837 meters long. The home straight is 170 meters long after a curve with a radius of 86 meters.
The track is a local social gathering place, with a first class dining room and attached bar. The crowd is mostly local with a few out-of-towners coming in on the big race days.
Betting at Warragul
Placing a bet at Warragul is a past time enjoyed by many locals. The main races are on some national sites online, but generally most betting happens at the actual track. Bookmakers are onsite for the larger race days and electronic tote machines are always available.
Some online sites offer betting on the bigger races at Warragul such as the Ken Miller Memorial. The main race days at Warragul are in the summer, at the opening of the school holidays, which attracts families. The betting area is kept separate to the family area, although placing a fun wager on a horse is a popular activity.
Horses and Fields at Warragul
The fields of the races at Warragul are not very big compared to other racecourses. A typical field can consist of about eight horses of varying quality. Mostly the horses are local and do not compete on a national or interstate level. Prizes are usually small purses or possibly a cup, which does not attract serious owners or trainers. That being said, the fields at Warragul are big enough and varied enough to place wagers on at racing betting sites, especially if you know the horses well.
Harness Racing At Warragul
Harness racing was first introduced into Australia in the 1800’s. The standardbreds in the country descend from a thoroughbred sire called Hector. Although not as popular as thoroughbred racing, harness racing has a wide popularity in Australia, with many wagers being placed on it annually. The government endorsed wagering organization, TAB, has a number of sponsored races through out the year, usually on the bigger tracks in the bigger cities, however.
Harness racing at Warragul began in the early 1900’s with the old dirt track. The track has since been redone and is now a very good all weather track. Warragul holds both trotting and pacing races as well as trials and training sessions through out the year.
Trotting and Pacing
Trotting and pacing are the two types of gait that harness horses perform. Trotting is a natural pace where alternate legs move in unison. A trotting horse does have to be trained to make the stride bigger and faster than it naturally would however. Neither a pacing nor a trotting horse is allowed to break into a gallop or a canter during a race. This is an important horse racing tips his endangers the horse as well as the driver as the horse may become caught in the sulky or harness.
Pacing is a gait that has to be taught to horses. Both legs on each side move in unison to produce a smooth pace. Some horses are bred to be trotters and some pacers. Genetic makeup and training both play a part in what kind of gait the horse will be best at. When placing a wager on either, make sure to have a look at the horse’s history.