Mack Lobell (1984–2016) was a brown racing trotter by Mystic Park out of Matina Hanover by Speedy Count. He won $3,917,594 during his career and was elected

Harness Horse of the Year The Harness Horse of the Year is an honor recognizing the top harness racing horse in the United States. The award is selected by the United States Trotting Association and the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), which issues the an ...

in 1987 and 1988. Among his many stakes victories were the

Yonkers Trot The Yonkers Trot is a harness racing event for three-year-old Standardbred trotters raced at a distance of one mile at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York. The race was created in 1955 to join the Hambletonian and the Kentucky Futurity to form ...

, the Hambletonian, the

Elitloppet Elitloppet (literally: "The Elite Race") or Solvallas Internationella Elitlopp is an annual, invitational Group One harness racing, harness event that has taken place at Solvalla Racetrack in Stockholm, Sweden, since 1952. The competition is rega ...

(twice), the

Breeders Crown The Breeders Crown is an annual series of Harness races in the United States and Canada covering each of the sport's twelve traditional categories of age, gait and gender. The series was initiated by the Hambletonian Society, promoters of the Ham ...

events for three-year-old and for four-year-old trotters, and the

International Trot The International Trot is a harness racing event held in the New York City area that aimed to appeal to a mix of United States and international entrants. The inaugural event was held at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York in 1959, and was he ...

. His best time of 1:52.1 for the mile was taken as a three-year-old in a race in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

; this time set the world record for trotters. John Campbell described him as the best horse he has driven.The Great Mack Lobell dies at 32, The Horseman & Fair World, March 9, 2016

1986 season

In 1986 Mack Lobell won the

, set world records at

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and Lexington and finished second in the Peter Haughton Memorial. He was voted 2-Year Old Trotter of the Year.

1987 season

Before the 1987 Hambletonian Mack Lobell had run a world 2yo record for trotters in 1986, and had begun 1987 by winning the

in equal world record time for his age on a half mile track and setting a Meadowlands track record by winning the Beacon Course Trot. In the Hambletonian Mack Lobell broke the stakes record in both heats winning in 1.54 and 1.53 3/5 beating the other heat winner Napoletano by 6 1/4 lengths despite foot soreness. After his wins in the Yonkers Trot and The Hambletonian Mack Lobell had the chance to win the Triple Crown by winning the

Kentucky Futurity The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old trotters, held annually at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky since 1893. It is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. In the 2007 race, Donato Hanover's winning time ...

. However, after he broke stride in both heats of the

World Trotting Derby In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

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won by Napoletano the task looked more difficult. In the

at Lexington Mack Lobell and Napoletano each won a division of the first heat. In the second heat Mack Lobell was defeated by Napoletano after setting a slow pace therefore failing to become the first trotter since 1972 to win the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

. Toward the end of the season Mack Lobell won the

at Pompano Park by 12 3/4 lengths from Napoletano in a time of 1.54 4/5 shattering the previous world record for a 5/8 mile track of 1.57. He also won the Colonial Trot in addition to his Beacon Course, Yonkers Trot, Hambletonian and Breeders Crown wins and world record mile at Springfield and was named

for 1988 with 13 wins from 16 starts and $1.2m in earnings.

1988 season

Mack Lobell won the

in Sweden early in 1988 beating another American trotter Sugarcane Hanover. In his Elitlopp win he trotted the fastest mile outside North America. Returning to the United States he won a leg of the Statue Of Liberty series, the Nat Ray Trot, the

, Challenge Cup and Van Lennep Memorial. In the International Trot he beat opponents from six countries and set a

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

track record for the 1 1/4 mile distance in becoming the first American winner of the race since 1980. In a leg of the Statue of Liberty Series at The Meadowlands he broke the world record for 1 1/8 miles. Late in 1988 he finished third behind Sugarcane Hanover and French trotter

Ourasi Ourasi (7 April 1980 – 12 January 2013) was a chestnut French Trotter. He earned $2,913,314 during his career. His harness racing victories included three consecutive Prix d'Amérique at Vincennes, the second by approximately 18 lengths. Our ...

in the March Of Dimes Trot at

Garden State Park Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden ...

in a field that also included Napoletano and European trotter Callit and Canada's No Sex Please. His 17 wins from 19 starts were sufficient for him to be named

Early on, Mack Lobell was managed by Chuck Sylvester, and almost always had John Campbell as his driver, but after his performances in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

at the age of four he was sold to Swedish trainer and breeder John-Eric Magnusson for a reported $6m. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Mack Lobell continued his successful career, although the primary intention behind bringing the horse to Sweden was for breeding purposes. While racing in Europe he won races in Sweden, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

1989 & 1990 seasons

In 1989 Mack Lobell raced mainly in Europe with wins in the Hugo Abergs Memorial in Sweden, the Campionato Europeo in Italy, the GP von Bild in Germany and the Momarken Grand Prix in Norway. He was also mixing racing with breeding duties He returned to the United States for the International trot but was only third to Kit Lobell. After the International Trot John Campbell was replaced as driver and Mack Lobell won the Challenge Cup for a second time. In 1990 he won the Elitloppet for a second time. He also won the St Michel Ajo in Finland, the Kosters Memorial in Denmark and a second GP von Bild in Germany. Mack Lobell didn't come close to duplicating his racing success at stud. Mack Lobell died in Sweden in 2016.Mack Lobell euthanized in Sweden at age 32
The Horseman & Fair World, www.harnessracing.com, Retrieved 4 December 2016

References

{{Reflist, 2 1984 racehorse births American Standardbred racehorses Racehorses bred in the United States Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion harness horses Harness Horse of the Year winners United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Hambletonian Stakes winners Yonkers Trot winners Elitlopp winners