Looking back, Swedish trotting evolved mainly from North American harness racing and considering that most of the influences on breeding, training and equipment were imported from the US, it is interesting to see how the sport has branched out in different countries. The Swedish way of doing things differs quite a lot, and a few pieces of explanation will be needed. To start with, we use the metric system (one meter is roughly equivalent to a yard) in Sweden so the way we talk about distances and marks make little sense in North America.
1000 Meters Tracks & Longer Distances
In general, all Swedish racing tracks are 1000 meters (5/8 mile). There are a few exceptions with 800-meter tracks (1/2 mile) in Arvika, Hoting and Åmål and a mile track in Tingsryd. The length of homestretches varies from 105 meters (Åmål) to 227 meters (Axevalla) in length. Skellefteå has an open stretch, whereas Åby has double open lanes.
There are basically four distances used in Sweden, 1640 meters (’short distance’), 2140 meters (’middle distance’), 2640 meters, 3140 meters (’long or stayer distance’). The English mile is mainly used for prestigious races only (such as the Elitlopp), except for races at Tingsryd where the track layout is devised to suit the mile. With the given circumstances in mind, a race over middle distance (2140 meters) consists of two laps around the raceway with four turns. These conditions make 1000 meters tracks slower than mile tracks.
The following converter gives an indication of the distances used in Sweden.
1640 meters ≈ >1 mile
2140 meters ≈ 1 3/8 mile
2640 meters ≈ 1 5/8 mile
3140 meters ≈ <2>
The Start is Important
About 54% of the races start with the horses behind the gate. Twelve trotters can be behind the gate - eight in the first row and four as trailers. The remaining 46% of the races have a ‘circling start’ with two or more groups comprising up to six horses each. Circling start allows a handicap system where those who earned more than a certain amount start 20 meters behind the wire. The Harper Hanover is a prestigious race over long distance, which sometimes has up to four circles behind the wire (please see video clip below). Those who earned up to a certain amount are joined in one circle and those with the biggest bank account in the circle most distant. All the circles are moving in the clockwise direction, whereas in Norway the second circle is heading in the opposite direction.
The average race finds the horses stacked up behind the leader after 500 meters. It is a crucial part of the race where positions are elementary and the speed just as high as on the homestretch. It is rarely full speed throughout the whole race, and it is quite unusual that horses are parked out three wide for a long time. The drivers are typically picking up speed with 600 meters left to go. The purse for the winner is in average $4,000, whereas races of more dignity have $15,000 and more in the purse for the winner.
Average Time Over 1000 Meters
It is not accurate to convert Swedish marks to North American, a truth which stems from the fact that we measure time as if the speed was an average over 1 000 metres. Instead of referring to quarters and get something similar to 29.4 for the first quarter, we would normally get the first mark after 500 meters. If the stopwatch shows 35,25 seconds, we get an opening time at 1.10,5 (35,25 seconds x 2 = 70,5 seconds = 1 minute and 10,5 seconds), which is then referring to the average time over 1000 meters.
With all these circumstances in mind, record marks set on 1000 meters tracks do not equal the time set on a mile track. Individual lifetime marks set in Sweden are not comparable with those set in North America, neither in dollars nor in time. North American trotting is faster and offers more generous purses than Swedish owners can hope for. Let us assume we are heading towards higher purses so the sport can survive economical crisis and remain the arena event it used to be when it was first introduced in our country.
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