Solvalla

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This article is about Sovalla horse racing track. For the Touring car race venue, see Solvalla Stockholm.
Horse Race Track
Solvalla
Location Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden
Year opened 1927
Race type Standardbred - Harness racing
Driver champion Björn Goop (109 wins at Solvalla in 2008)
Trainer champion Stig H. Johansson
(SEK11,989,664 won at Solvalla in 2008)
Website www.solvalla.se
Principal Races
Elitloppet
Swedish Trotting Criterium
Swedish Trotting Oaks
Jubileumspokalen

Solvalla is a horse racing track located in Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden.[1] It was opened in 1927 and is the biggest harness racing venue in the Nordic countries.[2][3] The last Sunday in May, Solvalla annually hosts Elitloppet, one of trotting's most prestigious international events.[4][5]

Major events

Elitloppet

  • International Group I race.[6]
  • Setup: Sixteen invited horses are divided into two elimination heats. Four horses from each heat progress to the final, raced later the same day. All races are of 1,609 meters, i.e. one mile.
  • Date: Is always raced on the last Sunday of May.[4][7]
  • Purse (2009, the final and the elimination heats included): ≈US$803,000 (SEK 6,100,000).[7][8][9]

Swedish Trotting Criterium

  • National Group I stakes race for Swedish three-year-olds.[6]
  • Setup (2008): Six elimination races from which the first two horses progressed to the final eleven days later. All races 2,640 meters long.[10][11]
  • Date (2008, the final): October 5.[11]
  • Purse (2008, the final only): ≈US$458,000 (SEK 3,200,000).[11][12]

Swedish Trotting Oaks

  • National Group I stakes race for Swedish three-year-old fillies.[6]
  • Setup (2008): Six elimination races from which the first two horses progressed to the final eleven days later. All races 2,140 meters long.[10][13]
  • Date (2008, the final): October 5.[13]
  • Purse (2008, the final only): ≈US$286,000 (SEK 2,000,000).[12][13]

Jubileumspokalen

  • International Group I race.[6]
  • Setup (2008): 2,140 meters. Ten horses competed in the event. Some were invited, some qualified through qualification races.
  • Date (2008): August 9.[14]
  • Purse (2008): ≈US$281,000 (SEK 1,750,000).[14][15]

Scandinavian Touring Cars

Since 2012 the venue has been used as a motor racing venue and hosts a round of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.

Driver champions

During the 83 years since the track's opening in 1927, there have been only 13 different driver champions at Solvalla. From 1934 until 1976, one of the three Nordin brothers won every year, with the exception of 1949 and 1975. Oldest brother Gösta won ten times, as did middle brother Gunnar. Youngest brother Sören Nordin was track champion 21 times. After the dominance of the Nordins, Stig H. Johansson took over and claimed the champion title no less than 29 times between 1975 and 2005, his last year as a driver. 27 these titles were consecutive, from 1979 to 2005. Örjan Kihlström is the reigning driver champion.[16]

Driver champions ranked by number of titles

Rank Driver Number of titles Years
1 Stig H. Johansson 29 1975, 1977, 1979–2005
2 Sören Nordin 21 1942, 1944–1946, 1948, 1954, 1956–1959, 1961, 1963–1964, 1966, 1969–1974, 1976
T3 Gunnar Nordin 10 1947, 1950–1951, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1967–1968
T3 Gösta Nordin 10 1934–1941, 1943, 1952
T5 Sixten Lundgren 3 1931–1933
T5 Björn Goop 3 2007–2009
T7 Ernst J. Nordin 2 1928–1929
T8 Erik Adielsson 1 2006
T8 Alfred Johansson 1 1927
T8 Örjan Kihlström 1 2010
T8 Erik Larsson 1 1949
T8 Berndt Lindstedt 1 1978
T8 Carl A. Schoug 1 1930
[16]

Most wins in one year

  • Stig H. Johansson - 194 (in 1992)[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Här finns vi". solvalla.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  2. ↑ "Solvallas historia". solvalla.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  3. ↑ "Besök Solvalla". solvalla.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Berg, Leif (2007-05-27). "Fransk smygare vann Elitloppet". dn.se (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  5. ↑ Kentell, Mark (2008-05-24). "'Elitlopp' most prestigious race in the World". harnesslink.com. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Grupplöpningar 2009". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Travsport - Resultat". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
  8. ↑ "Resultat - Elitloppet, försök 1". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
  9. ↑ In the conversion to USD, the rates of 2009-05-31, the date of the 2009 Elitloppet, have been used.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lindberg, Johan. "120 treåringar jagar plats i Kriteriet och Oaks". travsidan.nu (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Resultat - Svenskt Travkriterium 2008". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 In the conversion to USD, the rates of 2008-10-05, the date of the 2008 final, have been used.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Resultat - Svenskt Trav-Oaks 2008". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Resultat - Jublieumspokalen". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  15. ↑ In the conversion to USD, the rates of 2008-08-09, the date of the 2008 race, have been used.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Solvalla champions genom tiderna". solvalla.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-04-22. 

External links

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Coordinates: 59°22′03″N 17°56′23″E / 59.36750°N 17.93972°E / 59.36750; 17.93972

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