Hall of Fame

 



berndt o. lindstedt

Year of Induction: 
2003
Year of Birth: 
1936
DriverTrainer: 
Yes
Driver: 
Yes
Election Into Living Hall of Fame: 
2002
Biography: 

Born in Katrinholm, Sweden on July 21, 1936, Berndt Lindstedt has driven winners of nearly $25 million since first arriving in North America in 1978. He made a name for himself, in recent years, as the exclusive driver for the Continental Farm Stable.

Lindstedt started out as a groom in his native Sweden at 15 and did not go out on his own until he was 27. He joined the Hakan Wallner stable at age 30, working with him first in Europe and then, as the stable expanded its operations, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Berndt Lindstedt has won over 2,000 races in his career and was the leading driver at Sweden's top track, Solvalla in 1978. His North American starts number more than 2,500, with more than 640 wins to his credit.

He took the imported Dart Hanover to a win in the 1972 European Championship. He followed this up, in 1973, when, driving the same horse, he won the Prix d'Amerique, one of the most important races in Europe. Lindstedt also captured top honors in 1979 with a win in the Elitlopp with Pershing. That year he also won the European Championship.

In 1984, Lindstedt won the inaugural Breeders Crown event with the two-year-old colt trotter Workaholic. The Lexington race was the first time Lindstedt had driven the horse, but he turned in two flawless drives to get to the winner's circle, thereby clinching divisional honors.

Horses Lindstedt has guided to memorable careers include Royal Prestige, the 1986 Trotter of the Year, whom he drove to most of his $1.234 million earnings. The twosome's list of victories include the Founder's Gold Cup the Review Futurity, the American National and the World Trotting Derby, where they set a season's record of 1:55.1. Because of his impressive results that year, Royal Prestige was also chosen the top 1986 Three-Year-Old Colt Trotter, even though he did not win any Triple Crown events.

Other notable trotters Lindstedt has driven include Spring Dash, winner of the 1981 Hambletonian Oaks; Geraldine Broline, 1983 Merrie Annabelle winner; 1987 Peter Haughton Memorial winner Supergill; Express Ride, world record holder in 1987; Nan's Catch, who was the 1988 Three-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year; Armbro Goal, 1988 Three-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year; 1988 Yonkers Trot winner Southern Newton; and Kit Lobell, winner of the 1989 International Trot. There was also Me Maggie, who claimed the 1990 Breeders Crown Trot final and the Three-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year and the following year took the Breeders Crown Aged Trotting Mare championship; Yankee Glide, who won the 1996 Peter Haughton Memorial; Must Be Victory, 1997 Hambletonian Oaks victor; Harry's Bar, winner of the 1997 Peter Haughton Memorial; Kick Tail, who was the World Trotting Derby winner in 1998; Smok'n Lantern, 1999 Peter Haughton Memorial winner; Marita's Victory, first in the 2000 Hambletonian Oaks; and Yankee Mustang, a victor in the 2000 Peter Haughton Memorial.

In 2001, promising trotters under Lindstedt's tutelage included Cigar Bar, winner of a Hambletonian elimination and second-place finisher in the World Trotting Derby final; Mo Monet Hanover, a winner of the International Stallion Stakes, Hayes Memorial, the Review and Breeders Crown elimination; and Fluttering Wings, the New Jersey Sires Stakes final and Merrie Annabelle winner.

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 2003 Souvenir Journal