People Are Drag Racing Horses In Florida

Yes, you read that right. While horse racing is obviously nothing new, racing them down a highway isn’t usually where you find them. But if you’re on the east coast of the Sunshine State, where horse racing is especially popular at casinos, you may see owners training or racing their horses on the roads. As you can imagine this draws a crowd and turns into an event all its own.

And yes, there’s an official name for it: harness racing. The people aren’t actually on the horses for these races. “Drivers” sit in two-wheeled open-floor carts with their feet perched on either side and the cart is hooked up to the saddle.

Ironically, there’s only one casino/track in Florida that still hosts harness racing just outside of Fort Lauderdale – Pompano Park. Much of the training for the events that occur at Pompano Park are the street races you’ll find online. It’s usually just owners and drivers out there on their own but sometimes they get a “drag race” of sorts going when there are multiple horses on the roads.

So next time you’re in Florida and see a horse pull up next to you don’t worry, it’s just getting some practice in.