Most harness racehorses in Britain, North America and Australasia are 'Standardbreds', so called because the American harness studbook, begun last century, used the ability to cover a mile in a 'standard' time (initially 2 min 30 secs) as the criteria for entry. In Europe the French Trotter, the Sandinavian 'cold-blood' and the Russian Orlov are also used in harness racing, though Standardbreds and Standardbred crosses predominate everywhere except in France.