Harness: Gural and Team Svanstedt a perfect business marriage

Your next connection could be your best connection. That's the CliffsNotes version of how Jeff Gural, the owner, went from a fringe stakes player to handing the Hambletonian trophy to himself in the winner's circle at the Meadowlands, the track he operates as CEO, after Nordic Catcher S's record-setting victory.

"It was a fluke," recalled Gural about how he met trainer Ake Svanstedt. "He bought a horse from me in the sale at Lexington. I walked over to him, I didn't know who he was, and I told him I bred the horse. Ake said 'I don't speak English, talk to my son,' and I said ‘tell your father that if he wants I'll take 25 percent.' That started the relationship. He's the best trotting trainer in this country and maybe the world."

The seemingly inconsequential encounter at the 2013 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale involving a $20,000 purchase named Blue Muse began a relationship between Gural and Svanstedt that has seen them together in the winner's circle after the Hambletonian Oaks, the Breeders Crown, and now in 2025 following the Hambletonian.

Gural operates under the moniker Little E LLC., and that entity not only has increased its stakes appearances and success rate but also earnings since Svanstedt joined the picture. Of course, some of the increase is due to Gural's expanding his ownership portfolio since taking over the Meadowlands, but the impact of the Svanstedt stable is huge. In 2013 Little E LLC. had total earnings of $716,276 on the track. That figure eclipsed $2 million in each of the last two years and is trending that way again with $1.3 million earned so far in 2025.

"I'd be nowhere in the business," said Gural about his standing as an owner without Svanstedt. "I'd own the Meadowlands but I wouldn't be winning any races. I have other trainers and they are decent but Ake is in a class by himself, and I'm good luck for [the Svanstedts]."

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According to Gural, his spending has steadily increased as he has seen continued success with Ake Svanstedt, who heads the operation along with Sarah Svanstedt. What started with horses in the five-digit range has ballooned to numbers with five zeroes in the trailing position.

"Let's face it, I buy good horses with them. I don't spend $300,000 to $400,000, but I'll spend $150,000 to $200,000. When we started we were buying horses for $30,000 to $40,000. Six Pack cost $30,000," said Gural, pointing out that his lone stallion and the sire of his Hambletonian winner was a bargain purchase.

The Svanstedts buy a lot of horses and Gural doesn't go in on all of them. Typically they provide him a list of horses he can buy into and then Gural goes some research. He has Ashleigh Bennett from Allerage Farm [Gural's breeding operation] examine the yearling videos and he checks out the pedigrees.

"I don't claim to know anything about the physical part, but I'll look at the families, the price, the cross, and make a decision based on that," said Gural. "It is tricky because he buys a lot of horses, and I try to guess which ones will be good. I've been very lucky with him."

Most people would agree that Gural is not known for being an optimist. While he was on cloud nine in the winner's circle, he reflected on how things turned around for him in the course of one week.

"Not long because the horses business is very fickle," said Gural about how long he would remain on a high from the Hambletonian win. "Last week I was as depressed as I've ever been when Lady Landia was terrible. She was 2-5 in that [Hambletonian Oaks] elim and she was no good at all. It only lasts until the next race. Anyone will tell you, enjoy the highs because there are many more lows than highs."

While Gural was predicting a shorter run for his Hambletonian high, the run extended through the weekend and right into Monday when Mr Mouton, a horse that had traffic trouble and failed to reach the Hambletonian final, overcame the second tier to win the $80,000 first leg of the Kentucky Championship Series for his division. Also trained by Svanstedt, Mr Mouton stopped the clock in 1:50 1/5, meaning Gural now co-owns the two fastest 3-year-old trotters of 2025. A race later, another horse he co-owns – My Degenerate – took a $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series split.

It seems the horse racing Gods are smiling on Jeff Gural at the moment. He's won races he never thought were possible, and you have to wonder what is left for the 83-year-old to accomplish in the sport.

"I have to breed a Hambletonian winner," said Gural, who added, "Anything is possible."

That sounds like an optimistic view to this writer!