After Trot Insider broke the news nearly a month ago that two-time O'Brien Award winner Logan Park could be headed for racing overseas, the organizers of the 2025 Elitoppet made the invitation official on Saturday, March 8.
For the first time since 2022 — when Perfetto finished fifth — a Canadian-based trotter will compete in Sweden's famed Elitloppet. This year's event is scheduled for Sunday, May. 25.
"Logan Park is a very exciting horse who has shown both quickness of start and sharp speed," said Elitlopp manager Anders Malmrot in making the announcement during Saturday's V75 Direkt on Sweden's TV4. "It will be a great feature to see him measure his strength against our top European horses."
Last month at the 2024 O'Brien Awards, Logan Park clinched the Older Trotting Horse title for the second consecutive year. He had his most successful year yet in 2024, earning $940,240 and surpassing $2 million in lifetime earnings. Trained by the father and son team of Rob and Kyle Fellows, Logan Park achieved major victories in the Dayton Derby and the $457,746 FanDuel Open Trot Championship, the latter being his richest win of the season for owners Outofthepark Stable of Rockwood, Ont., Reg Higgs of Blenheim, Ont. and Arpad Szabo of Bradford, Ont.
The fastest win of his six-year-old season etched his name in the record books, as Logan Park became the fastest Canadian-sired trotter with a 1:49.2 winning time in the Allerage Farms Open Trot at The Red Mile.
"After over 40 years of horse training, this is the greatest honour we have ever experienced. To represent Canada with Logan Park is a dream come true," noted trainer Rob Fellows. "Let's show the world together the best athletes in our sport."
The Elitloppet is an invitational race where 16 horses compete in two different heats with eight horses in each. The top four in each heat meet in a final where the winner receives five million kronor (approx. $711,840 Canadian as of press time).
Invited horses for the 2025 Elitloppet include Logan Park and France's Go On Boy.
(Standardbred Canada; with files from Solvalla)