Seventeen amazing facts (and one bonus fact) concerning Swedes in the Breeders Crown:

1. Veteran owner and forever youthful Swede Hans Enggren owns Resolve, the winner of the $1 million Yonkers International Trot. The five-year-old son of Muscle Hill is actually earning more per start than this year’s Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder. Resolve has made $108,683 per outing, compared to Marion Marauder’s $105,681. Enggren, the man who owned the very first sub-1:55 Hambletonian winner Prakas (1985, 1:54.3) also set the single-season earnings record that year — by more than $500,000. The previous mark was set in 1984 by Baltic Speed ($1,062,611). Prakas hit $1,610,608 in 1985.

2. Jimmy Takter’s Always B Miki is the fastest pacer ever at 1:46. Ake Svanstedt’s Sebastian K is the worlds fastest ever trotter at 1:49. Two Swedes with the all-time standard on either gait. (Lars Palm would have loved this).

3. If Always B Miki wins out and let’s say, for arguments sake, is voted Horse Of The Year. That would make for a most unique trifecta for Jimmy Takter. That would mean that all three of his horses who won the Horse Of The Year title would have done so over a Triple Crown winner. In 1997, Malabar Man defeated Western Dreamer 193-42 in the voting. In 1999, Moni Maker defeated Blissfull Hall 129-47,

4. Commander Crowe is the oldest to win a Breeders Crown (age 11 in 2014) and was handled by Swedish driving star Orjan Kihlstrom.

5. The biggest night ever for a trainer in the Breeders Crown is $2,074,487 by Jimmy Takter in 2015.

6. John Campbell’s first three Breeders Crown wins came for Swedish trainers — twice for Soren Nordin and once for Per Eriksson. Amneris and Sandy Bowl for the elder Nordin and then Prakas for Eriksson.

7. The first Breeders Crown race went all Swedish. In Oct. 5, 1984 Jan Johnson trained and Bernie Lindstedt drove Workaholic to victory in the freshman colt and gelding trot.

8. The open mare trot has only gone 22 times — fewer than any other division in the Breeders Crown. But the Swedish domination is crystal clear. In 1987 and 1989, Grades Singing won with Olle Goop. In 1990, Peace Corps won for Stig Johansson. In 1991, Me Maggie won for Jan Johnson and Berndt Lindstedt. In 1992, Peace Corps won for Torborn Jansson. In 2012, Roger Wallman won it with Tamla Celeber S and did so again in 2015 with D’One.

9. The huge favorite in this year’s two-year-old colt trot is Walner — named for Hakan Wallner —who starred in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, from Sweden. He was 9 0-1-1 for over $350,000 in the Breeders Crown.

10. Per Eriksson — a three-time Hambletonian winner prior to his 35th birthday — gave all-time money-leading driver John Campbell his first three-year-old Breeders Crown win in 1985 with Prakas and gave Ron Pierce his first ever Breeders Crown win in 1991 with Giant Victory. (NOTE that the top two drivers of all time in money — Campbell and Pierce — each drove a Breeders Crown colt to victory for Eriksson after someone else won the Hambletonian with that same colt).

11. Jan Johnson and Berndt Lindstedt again teamed up in 1987 in the Crown with Nans Catch — the dam of Moni Maker.

12. Jimmy Takter won a Breeders Crown with his brother, Johnny, last year (Creatine).

13. In 2014, Jimmy Takter’s daughter, Nancy Johansson, wrapped up the Horse of the Year title with a Breeders Crown trophy with J K She’s A Lady

14. Jimmy Takter has won 27 Breeders Crowns with 12 different drivers: He gave all-time leading dash winner Dave Palone his first ever Breeders Crown in 2008 with In Focus. He gave second all-time money-winner Ron Pierce his last Breeders Crown win with Shake It Cerry in 2014. He gave John Campbell his latest Breeders Crown last year with Wild Honey. He gave the only amateur to win a Breeders Crown a pair with Malabar Man (Mal Burroughs in 1996 and 1997). He gave Brett Miller his first ever Breeders Crown last year with Pure Country.

15. Jimmy goes for a double three-peat in the sophomore Breeders Crown trots this year.

16. Jimmy Takter is the only trainer to win three straight Breeders Crowns races (Pocono, 2013).

17. Since his Hall of Fame induction in July, 2012, Takter’s Breeders Crown total has zoomed from 12 to 27 and his Crown earnings are more than the total of the next two trainers combined — Hall Of Famers Bob McIntosh and Chuck Sylvester.

Bonus Breeders Crown stat of the day:

Concerning Breeders Crown champ D’One, try and find another horse in history that can say this:

Both parents set a world record. Both parents did it the same day. Both parents did it at the same track — Lexington. Both parents did it in the exact same time. Both world records have not been broken — Donato Hanover in 1:50.1, Giant Diablo in 1:50.1 on Kentucky Futurity Day in 2007.