Inaugurated 1952 Distance 1,609 meters (1 mile) | Website elitloppet.se | |
Track Left-handed 1,000 meter track (0.62 mile) | ||
Elitloppet (literally: "The Elite Race") or Solvallas Internationella Elitlopp is an annual, invitational Group One harness event that has taken place at Solvalla Racetrack in Stockholm, Sweden since 1952. The competition is regarded as one of the most prestigious international events in trotting. The winner is decided through two qualifying rounds and a subsequent final later the same day. Both the eliminations and the final are raced over the mile. The overall purse for the 2012 event was SEK6,400,000, equalling approximately US$892,000. In 2002 the Italian champion Varenne, (considered the strongest trotter of all time), took it in a world record time of 1:10.4 in the elimination and then bested that mark by winning the final in 1:10.2 – the fastest mile ever trotted around three turns. The fastest winning time in a final is 1:09.5, run by the French Timoko in 2014. Elitloppet is part of the European Grand Circuit.
Contents
- The beginning
- The doping affair in 2006
- The races
- Distance
- Starting method
- The Elitloppet weekend
- Horses with most wins
- Sires with at least two winning offspring
- Drivers with most wins
- Countries number of wins
- Short distance 1600 1609 m auto start 1962
- Short distance 1580 1640 m volt start 1952 1958
- Long distance 2700 3200 m volt start 1959 1961
- All winners of Elitloppet
- References
The beginning
The first Elitloppet was run in 1952 under the name of Solvallas Jubileumslopp (approximately "Solvalla's Jubilee Race"). Winner the opening year was the German horse Permit. The following year, the event changed name to Elitloppet.
The doping affair in 2006
In Elitloppet 2006, French star trotter Jag de Bellouet won in a record time of 1:09,4 (km rate), with Italian Lets Go in second place. At a press conference a few weeks after the Elitloppet Day, it was announced that both horses had been disqualified due to positive doping tests. Jag de Bellouet and Lets Go tested positive for diclofenac and etacrynic acid, respectively. After the disqualifications, Swedish Conny Nobell was announced the official winner of the 2006 event. The general secretary in the Swedish Trotting Association (STC), Ulf Hörnberg, expressed that the double disqualifications was a "tragedy" for the event.
The races
In 1952-1958 and in 1973, Elitloppet was decided through two heats followed by a race-off if not one and the same horse won both heats. In 1959-1961, when a longer distance was trotted, only a single race was run. Since 1962 (with the exception of 1973), a concept of two eliminations and one final has been used. The number of horses in the eliminations has varied from seven to twelve during these years, but there have always been eight trotters in the final.
Distance
The distance has, with the exception of the years 1959-1961, been in the interval of 1,580-1,640 meters. In 1959, the horses ran 3,200 meters, and the two following years, the distance was approximately 2,700 meters.
Starting method
During the first ten years, 1952-1961, volt start was used in Elitloppet. From 1962 and on, a motorized starting gate has been used, changing the starting method from volt start to auto start.
The Elitloppet weekend
Elitloppet is traditionally raced on the last Sunday of May. Solvalla stages races both Saturday and Sunday which makes up a meet, known in Sweden as "The Elitloppet weekend" (Swedish: Elitloppshelgen). The two days are generally well-visited and is considered one of Sweden's biggest sports events. In 2008, a total of over 53,000 people attended the events at Solvalla.
Horses with most wins
Sires with at least two winning offspring
Drivers with most wins
Countries, number of wins
Short distance (1,600-1,609 m), auto start (1962-)
Short distance (1,580-1,640 m), volt start (1952-1958)
Long distance (2,700-3,200 m), volt start (1959-1961)
All winners of Elitloppet
1 Nationality of the winning horse's owner(s)