When it comes to getting their kicks, longtime friends Lars Nilsson and Stefan Andersson turn to the Premier League’s Arsenal Football Club and harness racing. The two Swedes have even managed to combine their passions, racing as Stall Arsenal AB and naming their horses with a nod to the Gunners or club-related trivia.
Such is the case with Dial Square S, who is unbeaten in three races since arriving in the U.S. from Europe this year and is the 5-2 morning-line favourite in Saturday’s $114,500 USD Grade 3 Six Pack Mare Trot at The Meadowlands.
Dial Square was the original name of Arsenal when the club was founded in 1886.
“Both of us have always been Arsenal fans,” Nilsson said, adding with a laugh, “I think most of our friends were Manchester United fans. We wanted to show that we were not like the others.
“We started to buy horses 10 to 15 years ago. Since we’re both big Arsenal supporters, it was logical to have (the stable) be Stall Arsenal AB.”
Dial Square S, a five-year-old mare in the care of trainer Ake Svanstedt, debuted in the States with a 1:51.3 win in the first round of the Miss Versatility Series at The Meadowlands. She then captured her elimination and the final of the Armbro Flight Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario. She won her elim in 1:51.1 – tied for the fastest mile by a trotting mare in Canada this season – and took the Grade 2 final in 1:51.4.
“We thought it would take some races before she showed what she could do, but she started very well immediately,” Nilsson said. “She’s a very strong horse. She didn’t show this speed in Sweden that she has now. When you see the speed she has, it’s enormous. So, now we’re looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the season.”
Dial Square S was winless in seven races last season, but she finished second on three occasions, including in the Group 1 Derbystoet for four-year-old mares in Sweden. For her career, the daughter of Ready Cash out of the Muscle Hill mare Eileen Boko has won five of 16 starts, finished second five times, and earned $349,242.
In the most recent Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll released Wednesday, Dial Square S was ranked No. 6 in the Top 10.
“We knew she was a good horse,” Nilsson said. “She really wants to win. When she gets the signal to go, she knows exactly what to do. She really, really wants to be first.”
Dial Square S is not Stall Arsenal’s first success in the U.S. with Svanstedt. Tony Adams S, named after the man known as “Mr. Arsenal” after spending his entire 19-year playing career with the club, won last year’s $337,838 New Jersey Classic for three-year-old male trotters and the $273,973 consolation division of the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial.
“We decided to send (Dial Square S) to Ake Svanstedt because he did very well with Tony Adams,” Nilsson said. “For us, Ake and (his wife) Sarah are the best trainers in the world. They are down to earth people, and really wonderful horsepeople.”
On Saturday, Dial Square S will leave from post three with James MacDonald in the sulky. She is one of four Svanstedt trainees in the seven-mare field, joined by Call Me Goo, Nelsonbriteagle NO, and Eteria IT. Call Me Goo, last year’s Breeders Crown Mare Trot champion, is the 3-1 second choice with Svanstedt driving from post seven.
“We have to wake up in the middle of the night to see the races in Sweden, but it’s not a problem for us,” Nilsson said. “But it has been difficult to go back to sleep after the races. It’s been really exciting.”
Saturday’s stakes-packed card at The Meadowlands also includes the $164,000 USD Crawford Farms Open Trot, $116,500 USD Perfect Sting Mare Pace (featuring 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh), and two $86,500 USD divisions of the Dave Brower Memorial Open Pace. All are Grade 3 events. There also are divisions of the W.N. Reynolds Memorial for three-year-old male and female trotters.
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands, when the track will stand alone on a three-hour live presentation that will be brought to a national television audience on Saturday night starting at 8 p.m. A free TrackMaster program is available here.
Harness racing fans will be treated to four stakes events that night as The Big M will share the coast-to-coast spotlight with no other track. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) will feature three hours of Meadowlands coverage as part of its “America’s Day at the Races” broadcasts on FOX Sports.
The show can be seen on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) beginning at 8 p.m. Chris Griffin and Paul Verderosa will anchor the program while Big M's Jessica Otten and Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Gabe Prewitt will provide commentary and analysis.
“It’s exciting for all of us at The Meadowlands to present such a big card to a national TV audience as the stakes season continues to roll toward the [July 12] Meadowlands Pace and [Aug. 2] Hambletonian,” said Meadowlands' Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “The TV crews at NYRA and FOX are first rate, and getting to show our product – especially when we will be the only track featured on the telecast – to an audience that normally sees Thoroughbred racing on the FOX shows helps the harness industry widen the appeal of our sport.”
The four events that will be featured on the show are the Six Pack, Dave Brower Memorial, Crawford Farms and Perfect Sting.
Here is the schedule for the remaining FOX Sports shows, with the event(s) that will be featured and the time the show will be broadcast. Which FOX network the show can be found on – Fox 5 New York (locally), FS1 or FS2 – will be determined:
- June 28 – Perfect Sting, Brower Memorial, Crawford Farms, Six Pack, 8-11 p.m., FS2
- July 5 – Stan Bergstein Graduate finals; Meadowlands Pace eliminations, 8-11 p.m., TBA
- July 12 – Meadowlands Pace Night (multiple stakes), 8-11 p.m., TBA
- August 2 – Hambletonian 100 coverage throughout the day, 1-7 p.m., TBA
- Sept. 5 – New Jersey Classic Series finals, 8-11 p.m., TBA
- Nov. 1 – Kindergarten finals, 8-11 p.m., TBA
- Nov. 15 – Fall Final Four, 8-11 p.m., TBA
(with files from USTA and Meadowlands)