Swedish Horse Racing: The Best Thoroughbred Races in Sweden
Horse racing is something that has been happening in Sweden for more than two centuries, with the first ever race taking place in 1841. Therefore, it is safe to say that horse racing is part of Sweden’s culture, and it will remain so for many more centuries to come. There are two main types of horse racing in Sweden, and these are thoroughbred racing and harness racing. In this article, we are going to take a look at two of the biggest thoroughbred racing event that takes place every September.
Stockholm Cup International
This horse race is a Group 3 race that is 1 1/2 miles and is open to thoroughbred horses that are three years old or above. It is run at Bro Park, which is a horse racing venue that can be found in the Upplands-Bro Municipality that is 40km from Stockholm City. The horse racing venue was inaugurated back in June 2016, and it can hold around 10,000 visitors at a time.
The Stockholm Cup was first run in 1937, and back then it took place at Ulriksdal, which was a dirt course that was located 6km north of Stockholm. It was a shorter race back then, being contested over 1,800m instead of 2,400m. It became a 2,400m race in 1955, and the prize money for the winner was increased quite significantly.
The race, to the disappointment of horse racing fans across Sweden, was not run in 190, 1961, and 1962, and in 1963 it was run at the Täby Racecourse, which is 15km from the capital. Up until its closure in 2016, this was the main racetrack in the country.
This race got awarded Group 3 status back in 1991, making it the first race in the whole of Scandinavia to be classified as a Group 3 race. The most successful horse in this race is Bank of Burden, as he won this prestigious race no fewer than four times. Square De Luynes has also had plenty of success in this race, since he won it in 2019 and 2020. When it comes to the most successful jockey, that award goes to Per-Anders Gråberg as he was the jockey that was riding Bank of Burden on the four times that he won it. The most successful trainer in Sweden is, without doubt, Niels Petersen, as he has trained the winning horse in this race on no fewer than 7 occasions.
Not only do the Swedish love to watch horse racing, but they also like to make it a little bit more entertaining by betting on it. Horse racing is fun to watch, but placing bets on it adds a little bit more drama to be had. If you ever find yourself in Sweden when this race is taking part, we recommend that you head over to Bro Park and emerge yourself in the fantastic racing atmosphere and place a bet or two on the action. You can guarantee that nearly everyone else who is present will have placed a bet on one of the horses to win, so you might as well too.
Bro Park Sprint Championship
This is a Listed flat race that is open to thoroughbred horses that are three years or above. Just like the Stockholm Cup International, this Swedish horse race also takes place at Bro Park in the month of September. However, it is quite a bit shorter than the Stockholm Cup International since it is just 1,150m long.
This race first came into being in 1924, and it was contested by horses aged two or above. It originally took place at Ulriksdal, but it was then moved to the Stockholm Cup International meet in Täby at the beginning of the 80s. For a short period of time, it was called the Täby International Sprinter Stakes. In 1998, it was given the status of Group 3, but it got downgraded to Listed in 2009. When it was moved to Bro Park in 2016, it had its name changed to Bro Park Sprint Championship.
When it comes to the most successful horse in this history of this race, there is no particular horse that stands out from the crowd. There has been no horse that has won the race more than twice, and some of the horse that have won this race twice are Easy Road, Kapten Moss, Simon Sacc, and Calrissian. When it comes to leading jockeys, there are two that lead the way with three wins, and these are Rafael Schistl and Gunnar Nordling. Regarding leading trainers, there are four that have won this race four three times, and these are Henry Meisel, Catherine Erichsen, Niels Petersen, and Francisco Castro.
Once again, there are plenty of Swedish horse racing fans who bet on this race, and if you ever find yourself at this event, we recommend that you spruce things up a little by placing a bet on the action. Even if you have never bet on horse racing before, we still recommend that you give it a go because if you place a small wager, you really do have little to lose.
