Harness: Bee A Magician declines Elitlopp invitation

Bee A Magician is staying home. The connections of the Mack Lobell Elitlopp Playoff winner decided Monday to decline the automatic invitation to the May 29th Elitlopp at Solvalla Raceway in Sweden. Trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman said the decision by owners Mel Hartman, Herb Liverman and David McDuffee was unanimous.

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive an invitation, but she is not the greatest traveler and the owners thought the best thing for the horse is to keep her home,” Norman said about the 6-year-old mare. “She’s in a good little groove right now and they didn’t want to upset her.”

Bee A Magician was declared the winner of the Elitlopp Playoff after Resolve was disqualified from first place for going inside three pylons in the stretch. Despite the disqualification Resolve also was extended an invitation to the Elitlopp, which holds its eliminations and final on the same day. Resolve is trained and driven by two-time Elitlopp winner Ake Svanstedt, who has spent the last three years based in the U.S.

For her career, Bee A Magician has won 43 of 67 races and $3.80 million. She was the Horse of the Year in the U.S. and Canada in 2013 --- going undefeated in 17 races --- and the Dan Patch Award winner for best older female trotter in 2015.

She enjoyed multiple successes last year against male rivals. She became the first female trotter to win the Maple Leaf Trot since 2006 and she became the first mare to ever win the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial and Centaur Trotting Classic. She also knocked off the boys in the Charlie Hill Memorial Trot.

Her victories last season also included the Armbro Flight Stakes for trotting mares.

This year, Bee A Magician is 2-for-2 with earnings of $84,500.

-Courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, please visit www.ustrotting.com