by Bob Duff

In the early 1990s, the advent of simulcasting was dramatically changing the landscape for harness racing in North America. Suddenly, you could bet on races from around the world being contested at any time during the day thanks to satellite technology.

The internet furthered this smorgasbord of racing product to where there’s hardly any time during the day when you can’t get action on some form of horse racing. What little void there was has since been filled by historic harness racing machines in some states, though you still have to leave home to play those machines.

With virtual harness racing, there’s no need to change out of your pajamas. You can bet on the races from the comfort of your own sofa. And the virtual harness races are in operation 24/7, ready and waiting for whenever you want to access them. And you can wager on virtual harness racing via some U.S. online sportsbooks.

HOW VIRTUAL HARNESS RACING WORKS

Have you ever loaded a computer sports game, either on your laptop or mobile device, or perhaps a game player and then let the computer play out the game while you watched to see the outcome? If so, then you’ve already got yourself a pretty fair handle on what it looks like to watch and wager on virtual harness racing at an online sportsbook.

Virtual sports are computer-simulated games. All outcomes are determined by random number generators. Even the site hosting the virtual harness race and offering betting on it has no idea which virtual horse will be the winner. Other than the person placing the bet on the outcome of the event, there’s no human element involved in the equation. The action that you will be betting on is a 100 per cent computer-generated simulation.

State gambling regulators view betting on virtual sports to be the same as wagering on a slot machine. The technology employed to operate both devices is virtually identical in design.

The technology for virtual sports is hardly new. There were versions of computer-generated games dating back to the early 1960s. They began to increase in popularity in the 1980s as software technology advanced and the games were gaining more realism. The arrival of online sports betting in the USA in 2018 opened an avenue for betting on virtual sports to be exploding into prominence.

HOW TO BET ON VIRTUAL HARNESS RACING

Wagering on a virtual harness race isn’t much different than betting on the real thing. You pick the number, or numbers of the horse or horses you want to back in the race. Win, place and show wagering is available. You can also bet exactas, trifectas and quinellas.

We opted to check out a virtual harness racing card being offered by Bet365. The racing was coming to us from the fictional Etruria Gardens. The race we opted to bet featured fictional horses and drivers. Ron DeVore was behind Over Ordered, while Richie Floater was at the controls of Anapple Aday.

There are plenty of factors that make virtual harness racing appealing. For one, the action is rapid. Races go off every three minutes. There’s no need to pour over a program in search of a perceived edge to bet. Just pick out a number or color for your horse and place your bet.

Each virtual pacer or trotter will be assigned odds representing that horse’s chance of winning the race. The betting line assigned to each horse also represents what percentage segment that horse occupies on the random number generator wheel. As with real racing, if you choose the favorite, your percentage chance of winning will be higher, but your odds will be lower.

The simplicity of virtual harness racing is also its beauty. So much of what occupies a handicapper’s time leading up to a race is virtually thrown out the window, so to speak. Form charts, statistics, track and weather conditions, late scratches — all key elements in wagering on real harness racing — are irrelevant in virtual harness racing.

WHERE TO BET ON VIRTUAL HARNESS RACING IN THE USA

As noted above, Bet365 is very prominent in the virtual harness racing game in the U.S. online sports betting market. The British-based bookmaker has been operating virtual sports for years, so this is a site that’s well-schooled in how to create virtual harness racing competition.

In truth, virtual sports haven’t become as popular in the U.S. sports betting market as they are in Europe. Part of the problem, industry insiders believe, is because many of the sports being offered tend to be more popular across the pond than they are on American soil. Bet365 is ramping up its product to cater to the American audience, adding virtual football, baseball and basketball.

Both BetMGM and BetRivers were launching virtual sports in 2024. Each bookmaker did its virtual sports deal with Inspired Entertainment, Inc., which unfortunately doesn’t offer a harness racing product as part of its virtual sports line.

BetRivers has even come up with a method to blur the lines between virtual sports and real sports. Among the virtual sports offerings at BetRivers is NFL Alumni Virtual Football. This game features computer-generated versions of actual retired NFL stars.

In some cases, you might be looking in the wrong place to find virtual sports action. For instance, at BetMGM, the company includes its package of virtual sports as part of the BetMGM online casino.