Harness: Tetrick heads to Finland for Arctic Horse Race event

It’s safe to say Tim Tetrick is in for a week unlike any he’s experienced while driving in North America. Tetrick, harness racing’s top money-winning driver this year, will spend the next seven days in Finland as part of his involvement in the first Arctic Horse Race event at Mantyvaara racetrack in Rovaniemi.

Tetrick will join drivers from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Italy in the three-race competition on Saturday at Mantyvaara. The event will see the drivers race twice with Standardbred trotters and once with the cold-blood trotters known as the Finnhorse.

The days leading up to the event will be filled with several promotional obligations and plenty of adventure. Tetrick and his wife Ashley will begin their trip in Helsinki before flying to Rovaniemi on Thursday. Rovaniemi, situated on the Arctic Circle, is the capital of Lapland and known for being “the official hometown of Santa Claus” as well as for viewing the Northern Lights.

During his stay in Rovaniemi, Tetrick will get to drive reindeer and huskies, take in a hockey game, go on a snowmobile safari, and visit Santa Claus Village.

“It’s going to be exciting,” said Tetrick, who is making his first trip to Finland. “It should be a great trip. We’re going to go and have a little fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

The 38-year-old Tetrick, who was elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame earlier this year, is leading all drivers in purses with $15.5 million this season and is second in wins with 750.

For his career, he has won $217 million, which ranks third all time, and 11,425 races, which ranks eighth.

Saturday’s event at Mantyvaara will feature family activities during the afternoon and an “ice disco” after the races that evening.

“The weather is going to be a little chilly, I guess, but it can’t be any worse than Chicago,” Tetrick said with a laugh.

“Ashley thought I was crazy because it’s going to be cold there. In December we want to go somewhere warm, we don’t want to go somewhere colder than where we’re at. But we got to thinking about it and it sounded like a lot of fun. It looks like there is so much to do there at this time of year.”

As for the weather, the forecast in Rovaniemi this week calls for temperatures holding steady around 30 degrees Fahrenheit with snow showers.

“That’s not bad,” Tetrick said. “I’ll be OK.”

-courtesy USTA Communications