How To Read A Harness
Racing Program

Morning Line (ML) Odds are not based on actual bets but rather to the odds set by the track odds maker. This is an estimate of what the odd’s maker believes the horses will have as their final odds when the horses leave the post. It usually gets posted the night before the race or early in the morning before the race.

Owner’s Name of the horse and the owner’s location

Breeder is the individual, farm, or organization that oversees the breeding of a horse, carefully selecting and pairing the stallion (sire) and the mare (dam) to produce a foal. Breeders are often acknowledged in racing programs and official records, as they lay the groundwork for the horse’s genetic potential and racing capabilities.

Totals by Lifetime, Current Year, and Last Year for: Starts – Win – Place – Show – Earnings – Best Time

Starts lists how many races the horse has started in.

Wins indicates the number of wins (1st place) the horse had.

Place indicates the number of places (2nd place) the horse had.

Show indicates the number of shows (3rd place) the horse had.

Earnings shows you the earnings in every category.

Best Time of the horse in each category.

Claiming Price is a pre-determined amount set by the race conditions that represents the horse’s sale price if claimed by a new owner.

Name of the Horse participating in the race.

Medication & Equipment indicates the types of medication and equipment the horse will be using. Medication will always be listed with a capital letter.

Color, Sex, Age, Sire (Sire Location), Dam (Foal Location) DamSire

Horse’s Color:

(b) bay 

(bl) black 

(br) brown

(ch) chestnut

(gr) grey 

(ro) roan 

(wh) white

Horse’s Gender:

(g) Gelding is a male horse that has been castrated (had its testicles removed) reducing its aggressive or unruly behavior that can come with hormones, making them more focused in races. A male horse that cannot breed but often have long racing careers because their temperament is more manageable.

(c) colt is a young male horse that has not been gelded

(f) filly is used primarily to describe female horses that have not yet matured or reached the age of breeding eligibility. Typically under four years old in horse racing contexts (under five years old in some other horse disciplines)

(m) mare is an adult female horse, generally four years old or older in horse racing and breeding contexts.

(r) rig is a male horse with one or both testicles undescended (cryptorchidism). This means the testicles are either partially descended or remain in the abdominal cavity. Rigs still produce testosterone, often leading them to exhibit stallion-like behavior (aggression, dominance). In some cases, rigs can undergo surgery to remove the retained testicles, after which they would technically be classified as geldings.

Age of the Horse

Sire or the horse’s father and Dam or the horse’s mother.

Program Number is the number assigned for each horse which the bettor can use for wagering. When placing a bet, the bettor will choose each horse based on its assigned program number. Sometimes the program number is the same with the post position of the horse but not necessarily the same. Post positions can change but program numbers do not. 

Driver pertains to the person controlling the horse during the race. In thoroughbred racing, they are called jockey. 

Driver’s Colors refer to the distinctive colors and patterns worn by the driver. These colors are more than just a uniform—they carry meaning, function, and tradition within the sport.

UDR stands for Universal Driver Rating (or Universal Driver Rating System), a key statistic used to evaluate a driver’s performance. A high UDR suggests a driver who consistently places near the top, making them a reliable choice in the betting landscape

Trainer of the horse and his statistics showing the starts, wins, places and shows.

Saddle Cloth Color indicates the color cloth the horse will have under his saddle.

Post Position is the actual physical position of the horse in the racetrack. It refers to the specific starting gate or stall assigned to each horse at the beginning of a race. Horses line up in numbered gates at the starting barrier, with each gate corresponding to a different post position. These positions are drawn randomly before the race that is why post positions are sometimes called draw numbers.

Win% Index in post position harness racing is a statistical measure that indicates the winning percentage of horses starting from specific post positions. It gives insight into how favorable or unfavorable certain post positions are at a given track or in specific types of races.

Race Date for each past races.

Race Number, Track Name (abbreviations) and Race Distance for every past races 

Track Condition refers to the state of the racing surface at a given racetrack on a particular day. Track condition changes because of the climate and changes of weather. Learn more about the difference and definitions of each track conditions at Types of Horse Racetrack Surfaces and Conditions.

Purse is the prize money of the race.

Race Conditions includes the type, class, price, and name of the race.

Race Type is literally what type of race is the event about. To learn more, click and read the bottom of the Horse Racing Types page.

Types of race with symbols:

• Mdn/Msw– Maiden special weight
• Mcl– Maiden Claiming
• Clm– Claiming
• Ocl/Aoc– Allowance Optional Claiming
• Alw– Allowance
• Hcp– Handicap
• Sta/Str– Starter Allowance
• Shp– Starter Handicap
• Cst– Claiming Stakes
• Soc– Starter Optional Claiming
• Moc– Maiden Optional Claiming
• Mst– Maiden Stakes
• Inv– Invitational
• Dby– Derby
• Trl– Trials
• Ftr– Futurity
• Stk– Stakes

Fractional Race Times refer to the times recorded at specific points or “fractions” of the race. These times give bettors and race analysts insight into the pace of the race and how fast the horses were running at different stages.

Class Rating of a race in harness racing is a numerical value assigned to indicate the overall competitive level of that particular race. This rating reflects the average skill, experience, and past performance of the horses competing, giving bettors and handicappers insight into the strength of the field.

Speed Rating figures tell you how fast a horse has been performing based on the horse’s actual time and other factors, such as the composition and condition of the track.

Post Position is the actual physical position of the horse in the racetrack. It refers to the specific starting gate or stall assigned to each horse at the beginning of a race. Horses line up in numbered gates at the starting barrier, with each gate corresponding to a different post position. These positions are drawn randomly before the race that is why post positions are sometimes called draw numbers.

Calls are specific points during a race where a horse’s position is recorded. These calls help provide a snapshot of how a horse performed at various stages of the race. These calls are essential for analyzing a horse’s racing style, whether it starts fast, maintains pace, or finishes strong.

Lengths Back measures the distance between a given horse and the leader (or the horse in front) at each call or how many lengths ahead the horse was at each point of call. One “length” is roughly the body length of a standard harness racing horse, about 8-9 feet.

Final Position of the horse during each past race. Horse finishing position include lengths behind
leader or, if leading, lengths in front.

Horse’s Final Time &
Last Quarter Time of the horse during each past races.

Final Odds indicates the win odds for the horse at the start time of the race. An asterisk indicates the horse was the favorite.

Driver pertains to the person controlling the horse during the race. In thoroughbred racing, they are called jockey. 

Medication & Equipment indicates the types of medication and equipment the horse will be using. Medication will always be listed with a capital letter.

Track variant is a numerical rating that reflects how the track conditions on a specific day influenced the overall speed of the races. This metric accounts for external factors—such as weather, track surface condition, and maintenance—that may cause the track to be faster or slower than usual.

Top Three Finishers shows the first three finishers of the race, followed by the weight that horse carried and then followed by margin (the number of lengths in front of the next position that horse was when it crossed the finish line). Bold signifies horses in common running in today’s race. Italics signifies horses that won their next start.

Number of Runners/Horses or the field size contains to the number of horses starting in the race.