Weekly Harness Racing at Kawartha Downs!

Photo Credit: https://facebook.com/KawarthaDownsHarnessRacing

Race nights are free admission and bar, concession and dining room are open to the public. Kawartha Downs offer indoor grandstand seating, outdoor picnic table seating and reservations are encouraged for their Grandstand Dining Room Buffet.

Located at 1382 County Rd. 28 in Fraserville

August 26, 2023

7:00 pm. - 10:00 p.m.

September 1. 2023

7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

September 9, 2023

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

September 16, 2023

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

September 23, 2023

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

For more information please visit:  https://www.kawarthadowns.com/events/harness-racing

Photo Credit: Canva

Kawartha Speedway is a 3/8 mile paved oval located in Fraserville, Ontario, approximately 10 km southwest of Peterborough. The paved track is within the harness racing track, temporary grandstands are brought onto the harness racing tracks surface.

Horse racing is an exciting sport, a dynamic business and a major contributor to the agricultural economy in Ontario. At Kawartha Downs, they feature harness or Standardbred racing where the horses are attached to a race bike (called a sulky) and are steered by drivers through a one- mile race.

Kawartha Downs is a five-eighths mile track which means the races start on the far side (away from the grandstand) of the racetrack, pass by the grandstand and race once more around the track with the exciting finish right in front of the fans and grandstand.

The horses which compete in harness racing have two distinct gaits. Pacers, the most common, move with both legs on the same side operating together. The front and hind legs on the right and left side move together. The majority of pacers wear equipment called hopples which help them maintain their gait.

When a trotter races their opposite legs work together – the front right and left rear come forward at the same time and vice versa.

The Standardbred horse is noted for its versatility and even temperament. Many harness horses that don’t make the racetrack can be found in the Mennonite communities, working as police horses and used in therapeutic riding programs. Standardbreds also make great riding horses and can be trained to compete in a variety of disciplines including barrel racing, dressage, etc.

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