Harness: In Sweden, racing continues despite the pandemic

While we work from home and practice social distancing in the United States, the country of Sweden has apparently taken a different route, allowing more freedom to its patrons and businesses, including Harness Racing, where it is almost business as usual.

As those in the Standardbred industry in North America adjust to the new temporary norm of no live racing, the horses and drivers continue to compete on a daily basis in Sweden. Solvalla, where the Elitloppet is held, offered a 10-race card on April 8 and Aby had nine races. According to Swedish Trotting Association Director of Racing Petter Johansson, there aren’t even any mandatory government guidelines placed on the racing industry.

"We have received nothing official from the authorities, but the Swedish Trotting Association has provided several documents with recommendations and information for our trainers, drivers, caretakers, transporters and the staff on hand," said Johansson. "We have followed the recommendations and directives put forth by the authorities and the government. Already on March 12, the board of the Swedish Trotting Association made a decision to compete without an audience. This means that all trotting competitions are now carried out exclusively with trainers, drivers, caretakers, transporters and the staff on hand. This means that we are now a workplace environment and only those who perform a job can be in attendance."

The fact that the Swedish government has permitted racing to continue is in direct contrast to the multiple tracks that have been forced to close by State Governors and Racing Commissions in the United States. Tracks like The Meadowlands and Northfield are clearly chomping at the bit to return when state mandates permit and Cal Expo would still be racing if not for a ruling last week (April 1) shutting down competition.

While Harness Racing is completely sidelined and only some Thoroughbred racing remains stateside, Sweden is offering the same number of Standardbred races and dates as previously planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Other than racing without fans, the only possible change could involve the Elitloppet scheduled for Sunday, May 31. The elite event for older trotters is currently in a state of limbo, with a statement on the race's website reading:

“Due to the spread of coronavirus, the Swedish Government has decided – at the request of the Public Health Agency of Sweden – to prohibit public gatherings of more than 50 people in Sweden until further notice. It is not at present known whether this will affect Elitloppet, and for this reason we have temporarily suspended advance ticket sales. Please return to this page for future updates.”

Sweden is a nation of about 10 million while the United States has a population of approximately 330 million. So it is apples to oranges in some respects. Though one has to wonder why it is reasonable for some tracks to race in the U.S. while others have been forced or chose to sit on the sidelines during the pandemic.

Perhaps a U.S. harness track could adopt a well-thought-out plan and convince the state government to allow racing on a trial basis. Cal Expo raced with no issues. We haven’t heard of any outbreaks of COVID-19 from other tracks after the initial issues stemming from Yonkers Raceway.

The Meadowlands seems to be the leader of the pack in wanting to race as evidenced by a April 7 release stating that it hoped to be in action by May 1. Recent numbers support a bit of a leveling off of COVID-19 cases in the New York/New Jersey area and track President Jeff Gural said he would wait until next week before making any plea for the return of racing. Horsemen in the state have also begun discussing protocol ideas to present to the Governor Phil Murphy when the time comes.

While Petter Johansson continues to keep Sweden’s Standardbred racing industry running smoothly, one can only hope that some stateside tracks will join the equation in the near future. Until then, perhaps racing from Sweden remains a viable option for players.

"We have seen a lot of interest from the U.S. and many companies have approached us recently and want to have Swedish racing," said Ylva Svensson, head of International Sales for ATG, the organization that handles wagering in Sweden.

"Our racing comes on rather early (post time on April 8 was noon EDT but racing can start as early as 7AM on the East coast) and we have had slow development since we launched in September 2018. Now we are seeing a rapid growth and are trying to market the sport to the U.S. customers."

The bottom line for fans of Harness Racing in the United States (ATG doesn't have a wagering partner in Canada yet) is that International racing is not only the best option right now as the sport waits for government clearance, it is the only option.