Harness: Profile of trainer Per Engblom

What kind of car do you drive?

I'm Swedish, so of course I drive a Volvo.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

A good steak; I'm more of a candy person, so something sugary.

What is your favorite track to race at?

I've been fortunate to race at Solvalla, Vincennes, Meadowlands, Woodbine and Mohawk, but a good nice day at the Red Mile when you have a horse racing in a big race in front of the owners and a nice crowd, that is pretty special.

What is your favorite big event in racing?

The Prix d'Amerique. It is so special and you need such a special horse to even compete in that race. To win it is even more amazing and someone actually gets to do that every year.

How often is racing on your mind?

I wouldn’t say 24/7, but probably too often. Sometimes I have to be better about relaxing and thinking about other stuff. It is not just racing I think about, but the horses I care for and how to improve or care for them. That is on my mind pretty much all the time.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing?

Family time, of course, but to relax a little bit, play golf.

What is your favorite sport to watch? Team?

I'm a big soccer fan, especially British soccer from the Premier league; Liverpool.

What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don’t know?

Some people see me as quiet. One guy told me that I look grumpy and angry all the time, but I'm not. I'm usually pretty happy and when you get to know me, I tend to talk a lot too.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Passion or lifestyle.

How did you get started in the sport?

My dad was a small trainer in Sweden who usually trained about 10 to 15 horses. He was a trainer, driver and blacksmith. I come from the same track where Jimmy (Takter) and Per (Erikkson) come from, Mantorp. I grew up going to the track with my dad and obviously my family lived and breathed our operation even though it was small.

You came here from Sweden in 1999 as a 19-year-old but went back home after a handful of years. Why did you come and what made you come back?

When I came out of school, I was going to stay for a year. I was grooming for Jimmy (Takter) and my older sister Pernilla was already working for him. Connie Svensson, who was the second trainer for Jimmy then, offered me a job. I went home to take care of my visas and I came back and stayed five years, two years as a groom and three years as a second trainer for Jimmy. Then my visas ran out and I went home to the trainer's school in Sweden to see and learn more. I worked for Ake Svanstedt for a period and for Stall Tilly. Then I had my own stable for five years, but somewhere in the back of my mind I always wanted to come back. I was always passionate about training young horses, 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds, where in Sweden it is mostly older horses. I always wanted to give it a shot before I got too old and figured I could always go back to Sweden

Are there any thoughts in your head about returning to Sweden again?

Not at this point. The way the racing is back home and the way life is treating me here, I'm very happy in my position right now.

What is the best advice you've ever gotten about harness racing?

Don't be afraid to try.

What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

Sometimes it is the small things that make you feel good. Like when I had a 2-year-old win my first race at Solvalla. When we won the Canadian Trotting Classic with Kadabra. He had gotten beat in the World Trotting Derby and wasn't the favorite going into the Canadian Trotting Classic. We worked with him and got him to the point where he was dominant for the rest of the season. That was a really sweet moment and really the first super-big race I was a part of winning. My sister was a groom for the horse. Her and I were up in Canada taking care of the training of the horse for Jimmy. It was pretty special. Also, obviously the night where we won six Breeders Crowns at Woodbine. That was sweet too.

Which is the best horse you've ever been involved with?

Father Patrick. He was complete. He was fast, sound, strong and good-gaited.

Which horse is/was your all-time favorite?

Either Kadabra or Father Patrick. Those are two horses that when I was working with Jimmy I was around them most of the time. It was two different periods of my life, but they are two special horses and it is hard to separate them.

What's the one race that you most want to win?

Obviously I'm here so it is easy to say the Hambletonian, but the one race that is really special to me as a Swede is the Swedish Derby for 4-year-olds. It is such a hard race to win. It is six eliminations over 1 5/8 miles and you have to finish first or second just to make the final. That is a race I always dreamt about winning growing up. I'm probably on the wrong side of the Atlantic to win it, but that was always my boyhood dream.

How many horses do you have in your barn?

About 40.

You went out on your own in 2019 after Jimmy Takter retired. How would you rate your performance?

Medium-plus. We had a good year last year, winning close to $3 million, especially in Kentucky winning three Sire Stakes finals. We won the Dexter Cup and a couple of big races. We didn't score big in the Breeders Crown. We won a couple of eliminations and we went flat in the finals. I felt there are things we could've improved and we are still working on improving them. I'm not disappointed. I’m very fortunate to have gotten the horses I have from my owners and from Jimmy, too. We learn every day and the last couple of weeks we’ve really been getting into shape. We have a couple of nice 2-year-olds and things seem to be going well right now.

What were the most important lessons you learned from Jimmy over your years working for him?

Like I said, don't be scared of trying new things. I worked for Jimmy for 11 years or so and we are the same. We try feed, we try trainings we try shoeing. With Jimmy's magic touch, he made it work, of course with us helping him too. I learned that there is not just one way to train a good horse. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing. If one way is not working, you can't be afraid to move onto the next thing.

You train on the Takter farm. Does Jimmy still lend a helping hand?

With some of the 3-year-olds. That is the deal we had, he was going to be my mentor with that group of horses. It is not like he is a part of the everyday operation, but if I ask him for help to go over a horse or sit behind one if needed, he’s there. I'm very fortunate to have it like that. My 2-year-olds this year, I've been more on my own. I think we have a couple of good ones there.

You mentioned having some nice 2-year-olds. Who are you highest on?

Altar, of course. She broke the first week but then had two impressive wins in the New Jersey Sire Stakes and won the final in-hand. She's been a (1:)54 horse pretty much under wraps, so I have high hopes for her. Spy Booth is a nice colt and was third in the Sire Stakes final from a bad post. He had breakers around him and didn't get a smooth trip, but he finished good. I also have a couple of other nice ones.

If you could choose any horse in history to train, which horse would it be and why?

A horse I read a lot about and I've seen videos of where he looked absolutely great is Nevele Pride. He was kind of a mean horse going into stud, but I would've loved to have seen him race live and been around him back then.

How has COVID-19 affected your life and business?

We've been fortunate, close family and even far away, everybody has been healthy. Of course my kids have been staying home and doing homeschooling, which has been a test, but it's been working out. Business-wise, I've been good. I'm fortunate to have some of the greatest owners in the business and they've been supportive. We've had a lot of stakes horses that weren’t ready, but the shutdown made it a little harder to be ready for the season and know when to be ready. It's been a little bit of a challenge, but in the long run at the end of the season, maybe we'll look back on it and it will be good that we didn't race them so hard earlier.

If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be?

I'm not a great politician like that. Maybe we could do more with publicity. I see what they do in Sweden with the national betting and the V75 wager that travels around with a rolling jackpot. It has been a great success. It is really hard to expand, but if tracks could work together to really develop their product, we could get more interest. If there is more interest, we could get more owners. If there is one thing we really need in this sport, it is more owners. We are fortunate to have the ones we have, but it is always nice to have more.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

We have some tough tests ahead of us with casinos and slots. The dream world is we have to stand on our own feet. We have to at least work towards that. I see that they are doing great things up at Mohawk and even back home this year has been very good. It is doable but it takes a little bit of work.

Time for the stretch drive:

Best Horse You Ever Saw: Maybe I'm a little biased when I say Moni Maker, but when she was racing in the Elitloppet when I was 18 years old, the way she crushed the field there was just amazing. I was fortunate enough to work with her when I started with Jimmy (Takter).

Best Driver Ever: Orjan Kihlstrom - He's phenomenal. His feel for the horses and his horsemanship as a driver is second to none. He has natural talent.

Lasix – Yes or No?: No - If everything like that was banned and we had zero tolerance like we have at home, where it is 14-days-out for a shot of Bute and stuff like that, we really could clean the sport up. If everyone wasn't racing every week, we could race them one or two years longer. I'd be the first one to sign up for something like that.

Favorite TV Show?: I'm big into documentaries or biographies.

Trotters or Pacers?: Trotters, but I don't mind pacers at all. I started out with four pacers and I have one colt that’s qualified in (1:)53 with a 26 last quarter by Captaintreacherous. I have a nice Always B Miki.