Harness racing drivers face heavy heart load – research

Harness racing inward the Manawatu portion of New Zealand. © Charlotte Bolwell

Harness racing drivers may move sitting downwards on the job, but they withal sense a lot of cardiovascular stress, New Zealand inquiry has shown.

Researchers at Massey University monitored the pump rates of a viii professional person harness racing drivers before, during, as well as later races at a North Island meeting.

Each was monitored for 7 or viii races during the eve meeting.

The drivers – 7 men as well as i women – displayed a peak hateful pump charge per unit of measurement of 145 beats a minute, amongst a spread of summation or minus 21 beats a minutes across- which the researchers described every bit a pregnant variation.

The heart-rate information showed an early on race peak, a moderate marking baseline, as well as thus a elevator every bit the drivers took the in conclusion plow to the destination line.

The v researchers, led yesteryear Dr Chris Rogers, works life that the attempt required to hold driver seat as well as the stimuli involved inward positioning the Equus caballus for a potential placing produced pregnant cardiovascular stress.

The drivers faced a like marking of physiological challenge to that revealed inward a report of jumps jockeys inward Britain, the researchers said.

Little information was available on the physiological stresses on horses or drivers during harness racing competition, inward purpose because whatsoever device or intervention had the potential to behaviour upon the race result.

Anecdotal evidence indicated piffling attending was paid to the fitness of harness racing drivers every bit at that spot was piffling trouble organization every bit to how this may alter performance, they said.

The researchers, whose findings bring been published inward the journal, Comparative Exercise Physiology, expected beforehand that driver heart-rates would move elevated during a race as well as peak towards the end, but they also explored the hypothesis that a difficult-to-handle Equus caballus would resultant inward greater physical demands as well as psychological stress, lifting pump rates fifty-fifty further.

For their study, they set monitoring equipment on viii drivers at a coming together at the Manawatu Harness Racing Club inward the summertime of 2010. There were 10 races on the card, amongst an average of eleven horses inward each.

Each driver inward the report was registered amongst Harness Racing New Zealand as well as had completed at to the lowest degree 100 official race starts.

“The outset peak inward pump charge per unit of measurement was associated amongst the jostling at the start of the race as well as optimal positioning of the Equus caballus within the field,” the researchers found. “There were small-scale fry fluctuations inward pump charge per unit of measurement related to adjustment of the Equus caballus to hit changes inward relative seat to the atomic number 82 Equus caballus as well as the within barrier, as well as a in conclusion larger peak inward pump charge per unit of measurement which coincided amongst the in conclusion plow into the abode direct as well as race to the finish.”

The researchers works life that the pump charge per unit of measurement tended to increment steadily during the race.

“Drivers amongst a conduct chances of placing – positions i to iv – had a significantly increased peak heart-rate compared to those finishing inward positions farther downwards the field.

“This suggests that when the drivers perceive that he/she is inward a seat to win, they volition move harder (physical travail as well as psychological excitement) inward the closing stages.”

They works life that hard horses contributed to peak pump rate, but non to the same extent every bit to a greater extent than or less of the other parameters measured.

“The peak pump charge per unit of measurement measured inward to a greater extent than or less cases approached what would move considered the heart-rate maximum for these individuals, based on their age,” the researchers noted.

Despite this, anecdotal evidence suggested drivers tended non bring a structured fitness programme, but rather relied on their regular trackwork as well as driving of horses during race preparation for fitness.

That, they said, begged the enquiry every bit to whether improved physical fitness could resultant inward a to a greater extent than relaxed driver during racing as well as potentially a improve outcome.

The consequence of harness racing on the pump charge per unit of measurement of professional person harness racing drivers. 
L. Nicols, C.W. Rogers, S. Stannard, J.C. Tanner, J. Bridges.
Comparative Exercise Physiology DOI 10.3920/CEP13012

The abstract tin move read here.

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