2026 Elitloppet

May 31, 2026 - Trotting, 1,609 meters, Solvalla, Sweden

Preview from May 27, 2026

The last four winners of the so-called ‘World Sprint Championship for Trotters’ came from France, and this year the favourites are French again. Meanwhile, the hopes are on a new young star in Sweden.

1st Heat :

1 - Luke the Spook was the last horse invited to the Elitloppet and will be one of the biggest long shots there. The five-year-old stallion began his career in the U.S., where he failed to achieve major success. He moved to Sweden early last year but won only two of his fourteen races there. Since he competed in the Prins Daniels Lopp last Saturday, finishing in fourth place, he has only one week to rest.

2 - Diva Ek won the first E-Series qualifying race, the C Th Ericsson Memorial, on March 28 and also triumphed in the Finlandia Ajo on May 10. The seven-year-old Trixton daughter, trained by Alessandro Gocciadoro, narrowly missed victory in the Yonkers International Trot in September and won the Prijs Der Giganten in Wolvega two months later. From starting position 2 the Italian should have chances to reach the final.

3 - Charron is Norway’s representative at the Elitloppet, just as he was last year. Last year, at the age of five, he was the youngest competitor and was eliminated in the preliminary round, though he also had a very poor starting position in seventh place. The winner of the Norwegian Travderby and the Jarlsberg Grand Prix has competed in two races this year, winning the Klosterskogen Grand Prix on his debut and finishing sixth in the Paralympiatravet. Despite he starts from 3, he is the biggest outsider in this tough heat.

4 - Don Fanucci Zet is something like the Mister Elitloppet. He is competing in this race for the sixth time and has experienced all ups and downs of the Elitloppet. He won the 2021 Elitloppet at the age of five on his first attempt. In the three years that followed, he failed to qualify for the final, but came runner-up in the final last year. The now ten-year-old son of Hard Livin is the last Swedish horse to have won the Elitloppet. On April 8, he ended a six-month break by winning the Onions Lopp and went on to win the Nuncios Lopp on April 22.

5 - Idao De Tillard is the undisputed superstar of the 2026 Elitloppet, as he won the 2024 and 2025 Prix d'Amérique. He would have been the Amérique favorite this year as well, but was unable to compete there due to colic. Following a successful operation and some initial difficulties, the seven-year-old son of Sévérino returned to his former form on April 18 at the Prix de l'Atlantique, prevailing against the assembled French elite in 1:10.1 (2,150 m). On May 9, however, after a difficult race, he finished only fifth in the Prix des Ducs de Normandie. Idao De Tillard had already competed in the Elitloppet in 2024, but failed to advance from his heat at the time, so it remains unclear whether he will be able to handle the tight turns in Scandinavia.

6 - Dream Mine is Sweden’s greatest hope in trotting, not only for the 2026 Elitloppet but for years to come. The five-year-old son of Maharajah has no rivals in his age group, having won his last nine races, including the Svenskt Travderby and the UET Grand Prix at Solvalla. Experts already see him as a superstar capable of making his mark in France too. However, Sweden’s Horse of the Year has so far only raced against rivals of the same age and has never competed outside Sweden. It will be fascinating to see how this exceptional stallion fares in his first encounter with the world’s elite.

7 - Keep Going won the Critérium des 4 Ans and the Critérium Continental in France at the start of his career. Recently, however, the now six-year-old stallion has struggled to live up to expectations. That said, shorter distances seem to suit him better. In summer, he won the Prix Louis Jariel over 2,150 metres and most recently finished third in the Prix de l'Atlantique (2,150 m) behind Idao De Tillard and Go On Boy.

8 - Borups Victory was actually supposed to run in the Prix d'Amérique this winter, having performed well in the qualifying races there, but ultimately did not compete in Paris due to a lack of form and freshness. The eight-year-old son of Googoo Gaagaa is showing a completely different side of himself in the new season, winning the Seinäjoki Race in Finland on April 25 and the Meadow Roads Lopp in Solvalla on May 13. He did not, however, attempt to defend his title in the Paralympiatravet, which he had won the previous year with a track and race record. The fast-starting stallion finished second in the Elitloppet final two years ago, but must enter the race from the outside this time.

Borups Victory wins the 2025 Paralympiatravet with track and race record

2nd Heat :

1 - Gio Cash is the first German horse to compete in the Elitloppet since Orlando Jet in 2018. The seven-year-old son of Victor Gio, bred by Berlin-based Pierre Sagitz, who has been racing for the Dutch Carpe Diem Stable since 2024 and is trained by Daniel Wäjersten in Sweden, won the Norrbottens Stora Pris last summer and, shortly thereafter, the Årjängs Stora Sprinterlopp with a new German record (1:08.5). After narrowly missing victory in the Jämtlands Stora Pris as well, he was invited to the million-dollar Yonkers International Trot in the USA, where, as the favorite, he was boxed in on the inside and could not fully demonstrate his sprinting abilities. In the Finlandia-Ajo, he most recently finished third, but was the fastest horse on the home stretch there. Gio Cash, third-place finisher in the 2023 German Trotting Derby, is driven by the American Dexter Dunn and should have good chances to reach the final from the inside position.

Gio Cash beats Don Fanucci Zet in the Årjängs Stora Sprinterlopp

2 - Allegiant began her career in the USA, where she won the Breeders Crown as a three-year-old and finished third in the Hambletonian Oaks final a year later. In December 2024, she was sold to Sweden for almost a million US dollars and is now trained there by Daniel Redén. The five-year-old daughter of Tactical Landing has won all five starts in Sweden, including the Group II Delicious Lopp (1,640 m) at Solvalla. On May 1, she faced older horses for the first time in the Marknadssprintern at Rättvik. However, she has not yet seen any truly strong opponents, which makes it difficult to assess her ability. The last mare to win the Elitloppet was the American mare Moni Maker in 1998.

3 - Jabalpur caused a major upset last June, prevailing against Go On Boy in the highly competitive Prix Rene Ballière and setting a new world record over the middle distance (1:08.7 / 2,100 m). In November, he also won the Gran Premio delle Nazioni (2,100 m) in Milan ahead of Inexess Bleu. The seven-year-old son of Booster Winner, trained by Arnaud Chavatte in France, failed to impress in his two starts this year, finishing only fifth in the Gran Premio Costa Azzurra.

4 - Fine Manners has won sixteen of his twenty starts. However, he comes from the Silver Division, which is why he is only an underdog in his heat. Trainer Mattias Djuse said the gelding is the fastest horse he has ever trained, which is why he is competing in the Elitlopp to win it.

5 - Go On Boy won last year’s Elitloppet final in commanding fashion and is, of course, among the top favorites again this year. He was already among the favorites in January’s Prix d’Amérique, but broke into a gallop on the home stretch. However, the ten-year-old son of Password has celebrated his greatest successes over sprint distances, winning, among other races, the final of the UET Elite Circuit (2,100 m) and the Prix de France (2,100 m) and came runner-up on February 8 when attempted to defend his Prix de France title. In the Prix de l'Atlantique, he most recently finished second behind Idao De Tillard. For Go On Boy, it is the fourth appearance in the Elitloppet.

6 - A Fair Day is sure to be the crowd favorite in his third start at the Elitloppet, if only because he is trained by 71-year-old amateur trainer Elisabeth Almheden and driven by the relatively unknown Oscar Ginman. The seven-year-old gelding is often underestimated, but finished a strong fourth in last year’s Elitloppet final. This year, A Fair Day competed in five races, finishing fourth in the C Th Ericsson Memorial after two victories and came runner-up in the Örebro Intn’l on May 2.

7 - Inexess Bleu is another very strong contender from France. Since he was ineligible to compete in the Prix d'Amérique as a gelding, he is set to showcase his class in the 2026 Elitloppet at Solvalla, where he won the UET Elite Circuit final against the world's best in October. Last year, he won eight of his ten starts and was given a five-month break from racing over the winter. On Easter Saturday, he was back to his old self, winning the highly competitive Prix Kerjacques in Paris with ease and subsequently also succeeded in the Prix des Ducs de Normandie. It remains to be seen, however, how Inexess Bleu will handle the mile, which his trainer Laurent-Claude Abrivard actually considers too short. Starting position 7 is not the very best too.

Inexess Bleu wins the final of the UET Elite Circuit in Solvalla

8 - Jobspost, as Dream Mine trained by Jörgen Westholm, is a stallion who has never competed in a Group race, but who is nonetheless expected to perform well in the 2026 Elitloppet. The seven-year-old son of Readly Express has won twelve of his last sixteen starts. Of course, he still has to prove himself against the established horses, but the fact that he was invited to the Elitloppet as the third horse after Go On Boy and Inexess Bleu speaks volumes.


The Elitloppet is Scandinavia's most important horse race. It has been held since 1952 with two preliminary rounds and the final on the same day in Solvalla near Stockholm.
Since 2026, there have been new rules governing who is allowed to participate in the Eliloppet. Thirteen starters are still invited by the organisers. A new feature are the so-called E-Races, which comprises seven qualifying races in which points are awarded. The two horses with the most points qualify for the 2026 Elitloppet. If one of the two winners has already been invited, the next highest-placed horse moves up. The winner of the Finlandia Ajo receives another starting place.
The seven qualifying races of the E-Races: C. Th. Ericsson Memorial, Onions Lopp, Nuncios Lopp, Meadow Roads Lopp, MileMästaren, Price Daniels Lopp


» More information about Swedish trotting races.