Marko Kreivi may be a name that many in North America don’t know, but he’d certainly like to change that. The native of Sweden, who is co-owner of two-time Breeders Crown winner and new Southwind Farms stallion Ecurie D, hopes to increase his exposure in the United States and bring more horses to these shores. Kreivi made the flight from Sweden for almost all of Ecurie D's races in 2022 and hopes the career winner of $1.5 million with a 1:49 1/5 mark will be just as prolific in his stallion career. Fresh off a flight back home from the U.S., the 51-year-old Kreivi took the time to discuss his time in the sport, his new stallion and racing in general. Since your name may be unfamiliar to North American followers of Harness Racing, where were you born and do you still live in that country? I was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. But I am a Finnish citizen because my parents were there when I was born and I never changed it. I spent all summers and holidays in Finland when I was young. Now I live outside of Gothenburg on the west coast in a beautiful island named Tjörn. How did you get involved in harness racing? My mother was always interested and since I was really young I had to run to the post office to place her bets. She always talked about horses and that caught me. I was on the Åby track every Thursday I could in the 1990’s. My father put me in as an owner to a horse named Golowina in 1982 when I was 11 years old. She didn’t have too much luck and my father didn’t talk about horses after that [haha]. What do you do for a living? Breeding, of course, and I co-own a company with my two sisters that paints trucks for Volvo and others. I had a repair center for cars that I sold in 2016, and that gave me time to come back into horse racing in 2018. From 2000-2018 was mostly work, work, work. You own two horses in the U.S. - Ecurie D and Pure Countess. How many do you own in Sweden? With breeding mares, yearlings, weanlings and race horses, it's about 65 horses. I'm told one of your Swedish horses is a really good 3-year-old named Pure Atlas. Do you see him eventually coming to the U.S.? Pure Atlas is really nice and only lost his first race as a 2-year-old. After winning the Swedish Breeders Crown as a 2-year-old, he had some small injuries that ruined the big races as a 3-year-old. We always were and still are planning on taking him to U.S after his 4-year-old season; if all goes well. He has a nice sister this year with Bar Hopping as the father. She will come to U.S. in the beginning of next year. Have you considered bringing more horses to the U.S. or buying yearlings to keep here? Yes, I really am. I have two mares today in the U.S. that got babies this year. And the plan is to have more. I also buy/sell yearlings or put my own breedings in training. I think five of my breedings born this year will come to U.S. next year. [DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter] What kind of car do you drive? Audi Q8. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Ooh I like a lot of different food. Mostly homemade. It's really hard to answer. Snack would be Beef Jerky because I've grown up with it. It's a big deal in Finland. What is your favorite track to visit? Why? Åby in Gothemburg because it's my home track and I've spent a lot of time there through the years. Meadowlands in U.S. because of all memories I've got the last two years and of course the people there. What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? Breeders Crown. It’s always been a dream to win it. Ecurie D did it two times, which is amazing, but also as a breeder it's a future dream. How often are horses or racing on your mind? Every day. What is your favorite thing to do outside of the sport? Fishing and hunting. What is your favorite sport to watch? Team? Outside horse racing it is Formula One (Ferrari) and IndyCar. I come from a racing family. Both my father and mother drove race cars, so car racing has always been a part of my life. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I like to sing Karaoke [haha]. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Emotions. What was your best moment in harness racing? Many with Ecurie D, but also the Criterium win in Norway with Jolene B.R. That was also special for me. You were in attendance when Ecurie D won the TVG final on November 26 at The Meadowlands. Do you make the trip from Sweden often to watch him? Yes. I saw all the big races but the Maple Leaf Trot. I like to see live. It's more fun. I'm not the owner that sits at home when the big races are on. It's on the track where it happens and you meet all the fantastic people. What made you decide to bring Ecurie D to the U.S.? We decided already when he was 3 that he would make the trip to the U.S. We were certain that the tracks and the way races are driven would be good for him, and I always wanted to be in the U.S. so it was an easy decision. It came a year later then we would have liked but we are here and that's what counts. Obviously that was a smart decision as he has won over $1 million since his arrival. Is it safe to safe he has exceeded expectations? Yes. We knew how good he can be, but he had to show it, and I think he really did. Was it a difficult decision to retire Ecurie D to stud? It was a really hard decision to retire Ecurie D to stud. Åke wanted to continue and said that Ecurie D felt stronger than ever. It was one of my most difficult decisions in life. But I guess I'm not the first to feel like that. Are you concerned with his ability to get a full book of mares as a foreign horse in the U.S. or do you think his resume will help him overcome that? We really hope that Ecurie D caught the attention of the big crowd. He is such a smart, charismatic and beautiful horse. He's also really fast with an amazing curve technique, as we saw with the bridal mishap [MGM Yonkers International Trot start] and the World Record. Anyway, we got the question and there was a lot of interest. He already had many bookings today. We have full confidence in the team around Ecurie D and we are very proud to be at Southwind Farms, beside such great sires as Muscle Hill, Walner and Tactical Landing. Do you foresee him doing well as a stallion overseas via semen shipping? We think Ecurie D will do well in Europe on frozen semen. Everybody knows him and we have had the question about syndicating him here a couple of times. But we always wanted to go to U.S. It won't change that much for Europeans, we are used to that one country has fresh semen and the others gets frozen depending on where the stallion is at. We got some nice messages from people today, because there's always people that would have wanted to see him on the track next year. So would we of course, but now we are happy with this decision. I've talked to some that put their stallion to stud, and now I see what they meant. It feels crazy to stop racing with a horse that is in perfect condition. That will probably be on my mind for a while, but at the same time I'm so eager to see Ecurie D's offspring on the track, so I have to think about that instead. While your name is known here through Ecurie D, you are very much involved in the breeding industry. How many mares do you breed each year? Are they all in Sweden? I have around 20 mares now based in Sweden, France and U.S. Do you consider yourself more of a breeder or an owner? I would say both is equally important for me. What can U.S. racing learn from Swedish racing? I think U.S. racing works just fine. What could Sweden learn from the U.S.? I think that Sweden needs to find a program that is better for 2-year-olds. We have really nice breedings with the best from U.S. and France, and owners that want to race earlier, but it’s not really worth it. How do you view the future of harness racing globally? I think North America and France will be the leaders as has been, and I think breeders and owners from Europe will look more and more on these countries. Sweden's standard of the horses is really good. But costs are going through the roof and there are not enough races with good purses. It's getting really hard to make ends meet for many owners/breeders. Time for the stretch drive… Best Horse you ever saw? Ecurie D Best Driver Ever? Ooh Jorma Kontio? Ulf Thoresen? John Campbell? Oh my God, is it even fair to name any one driver? Best Trainer Ever? Jean Pierre DuBois? Åke Svanstedt? Soren Nordin? Ron Burke? Jimmy Takter? Same here, the list could go on and on. I can’t pick one! Lasix - Yes or No? I don't know enough to have an opinion about it. Favorite TV Show? I don't have any. I'm more sports, series or movies.