[I]If you just want to be an owner, you can be part of a syndicate group. Normally, it is organized by individuals or companies. I believe they are normally groups of 5 or more(but I could be wrong). You could also consider going in with one or two other people, splitting all costs in half/thirds.
Of course, sometimes having joint ownership can cause headaches…you don’t agree with the trainer, or the driver that is being used, or how little/much the horse is racing.
Something else you might want to look into, is whether or not you would want to purchase a pacer or a trotter. Some barns tend to lean towards one or the other. Tracks here in Ontario always seem to have more pacers then trotters.
Board is not done the same as what it would be for a riding horse. A boarding barn would charge extra for any training, or feed…where a Standardbred barn normally goes by a flat (ish) type rate, that (can) includes training, feed, shoeing etc.
Standardbreds are very cross trainable, from trail riding to jumping, to endurance, and anything in between. A lot of places even have Standardbred only shows that cover English, Western, line, and driving classes.
Distances of more or less then a mile are a newer “fad” for the most part.
Standardbreds are named as such, as to be registered way back when, they had to trot the mile in a standard amount of time…2 minutes 30 seconds.
Australia, New Zealand, and several European countries are big into harness racing. World Driving Championships several years ago was held in France.
A good resourse would likely be the local track, or the American counterpart to Standardbred Canada… United States Trotting Association?[/I]
