What kind of car do you drive? Nissan Rogue. Favorite dinner meal? Snack?     BBQ; Cheez Doodles. What is your favorite track to race at? Red Mile. I just like the atmosphere. What is your favorite big event in racing? Hambletonian. I hope that one day I can win it. Do you have any prospects that can win it in 2020? I’m not sure yet. Mister Walker is training good right now, so I’m hoping he fooled me a bit as a 2-year-old. He has the pedigree. He’s a Muscle Hill out of D’orsay. How often is racing on your mind? 24/7. What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing? Grilling. I think that I own three-to-four types of barbeques. I have a big smoker. Ask anyone that spent the winter in Florida at Vero Beach about my smoked chicken wings. What is your favorite sport to watch? Harness Racing. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don’t know? I’m pretty quiet. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Adrenaline. How did you get started in the sport? I drove my first pony race when I was 7 and drove them until I was 15 or 16. I finished High School and came here (to U.S.) when I was 18. You were on top of the Harness world for years but have fallen on harder times lately. What happened? I had a few bad years where the horses and I were not getting along as we should. I hope that we have it turned around and we are on our way back up again. Do you think it will be harder to climb the ladder to the top the second time? It should be a little easier because you know what you have to do and can learn from your mistakes the first time. Is it as simple as finding that one good horse that gets your name in the spotlight again? I would say pretty much it is. You have to have that one horse that puts you back on the map again. It is better for your owners to have many horses that make money, but for you to get back on top, you need that one horse that everybody sees. Have many of your owners from when you were on top stayed with you? Some have moved on and some are still with me. It’s been about 50/50. How is your confidence level right now as a trainer? I’m pretty confident right now, actually. I’d say my confidence is pretty high up there. If you start second-guessing yourself it is time to get out. You have to do what your gut tells you to do. What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten about harness racing? Always be honest. What was your favorite moment in harness racing? Setting the world record with Maven in the Miss Versatility final (Delaware County Fair). When I’m having a bad day, I go back and watch that race, actually. Which is the best horse you’ve ever trained? I guess Maven. She was tough. What was it like to go back to your homeland for the Elitloppet with Maven in 2014 after being in the U.S. for so long? It was an incredible feeling. My parents came up from south Sweden. How many horses do you have in your barn? 16. What is the highest number of horses you’ve ever had? The most is 55. That was just one year, then we were back down to 35 or 40. With 16 horses, can you have a breakout season? Yes, because you just need to find that one. Hopefully that one is in the barn right now. Where are you stabled? I’m in Florida right now and was going to come up on April 10, but it didn’t make any sense with what is going on. I stable at Harry Landy’s Congress Hill Farm in New Jersey. It’s a nice quiet spot. Who are the one or two horses you are most looking forward to racing in 2020? I have a Cantab Hall 3-year-old filly and two Muscle Hill 2-year-olds, a filly and colt, that I’m excited about racing. How has COVID-19 affected your life and business? It has not affected my business other than my two grooms who went back to Finland to get their work papers and they got stuck over there. Personally, other than that I can’t go out to eat dinner, it hasn’t affected me at all. I like to cook, but right now I’d like to sit down in a restaurant, order a beer and have someone bring me food to the table. Since you train younger horses, it really hasn’t affected you much at all? We would not be racing yet. We would’ve started to qualify right about now. I’ve backed off a little with them. I saw you with a cane during the sales. What is the deal there? That’s my measuring cane for horses. I measure height and length. Inside the cane is a leveler that folds out to get the height of the withers. I think I’m one of the only ones that still measures horses. Most horses you can see with the naked eye if they are longer than tall, but some you have to guess. With the stick, you can get a more accurate reading. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? Licensing. When you have overseas owners, it is a pain to get fingerprints and stuff done. How do you view the future of harness racing? I think the sport is going to have to come together a little to make a better product for the public. Maybe put in some distance races; mixing it up a little. Also not dragging out races so much. If you bring somebody new to the races, they don’t want to sit for six hours to watch races when there is nothing going for 20 minutes between every race. Time for the stretch drive: Best Horse You Ever Saw: Mack Lobell Best Driver Ever: Johnny Takter, because he can drive in any country and fits right in. Lasix – Yes or No?: Yes, but maybe not for 2-year-olds. If horses need it, they need it, but I think there should be stricter rules for getting horses on Lasix. Best Race You Ever Saw: Wiggleit Jiggle It winning the Little Brown Jug. When he was beat and came back to win it. Favorite TV Show?:  NCIS from any city. I watch them all.