Mantorp Travbana: the complete guide to Sweden's Östergötland trotting track

A brief history of Mantorp Travbana

Mantorp Travbana was inaugurated on 27 June 1965, during Midsummer weekend, drawing crowds from across Östergötland to witness its first races. The track was built by Östergötlands Travsällskap (the Östergötland Trotting Society), which had been formed two years earlier in 1963 specifically to develop harness racing in the region.

Today, Mantorp Hästsportarena stages between 15 and 20 race days per year, a typical allocation for a mid-sized Swedish trotting track.

In recent years, the venue has rebranded from "Mantorptravet" to Mantorp Hästsportarena, reflecting its broader identity as a multi-discipline equestrian arena that also hosts riding competitions.

What makes Mantorp Travbana physically unique

Mantorp is not just another Swedish oval. Its dimensions and layout give it a distinct racing character that experienced trainers, drivers and bettors learn to read carefully.

Key track specifications

The defining characteristic is the 177-metre homestretch — among the shortest in all of Sweden. This single feature shapes everything about how races unfold at Mantorp. Horses that sit close to the pace and can quicken early have a structural advantage, while deep closers typically run out of track.

Combined with the track's unusual width (over 23 metres at both starts), Mantorp rewards tactical positioning over raw late-race kick. This is why trainers who base their operations at Mantorp develop horses with a specific kind of racing intelligence — horses built for placement, pace and early turn-of-foot rather than long finishing runs.

The legend of Ina Scot: Mantorp's greatest story

No account of Mantorp Travbana is complete without the story of Ina Scot, the mare who put this Östergötland track on the international map of harness racing.

Ina Scot's career in numbers

Born 22 June 1989 (by Allen Hanover out of Lovina Grefgård by Mad Scot), Ina Scot made her racing debut at Mantorp as a two-year-old on 26 August 1991 — a race she won despite never having competed before. Her career statistics remain staggering:

• 90 races started: 54 wins, 11 seconds, 6 thirds
• 31 consecutive victories between April 1992 and March 1994 — a world record
• Career earnings of US$2,963,019 — the richest Swedish mare trotter in history
• Swedish Horse of the Year three times: 1992, 1993 and 1995
• Inducted into the Swedish Hall of Fame in 2013

The signature wins

Ina Scot didn't just win at home. Her victory ledger reads like a tour of European harness racing's most prestigious trophies:

In 1993, Ina Scot went 17 starts, 17 wins — an entire season undefeated, including unusual victories over male horses in the Swedish Trotting Criterium and the Swedish Trotting Derby.

The Kjell P. Dahlström partnership

Ina Scot was discovered and purchased as a filly by Swedish horseman Kjell P. "Sheriffen" Dahlström, whose farm Hassangården sits outside Tranås, close to Mantorp. Dahlström trained Ina Scot throughout her entire career, and either he or his then-wife Helen A. Johansson drove her in all 90 of her races.

The 1995 Prix d'Amérique at Vincennes made history twice over. Helen A. Johansson became the first woman ever to drive in the Prix d'Amérique, and the first woman ever to win it. Sitting in behind the favourite Vouraise, she released the reins at exactly the right moment on the homestretch, and Ina Scot found her final gear to pass the leader and cross the line first.

Ina Scot's resting place at Mantorp

Ina Scot died on 21 December 2013 at the age of 24, after injuring herself in a paddock. She is buried next to the winners' circle at Mantorp Hästsportarena — a permanent memorial on the track where her extraordinary career began and where she won her first race as an untested two-year-old.

This is something no other Swedish track can claim: Mantorp is the final resting place of a Prix d'Amérique winner, and that grave sits yards from where new champions race every week.

The other Mantorp icons

While Ina Scot is the defining figure, she is not the only champion with Mantorp connections.

Opal Viking is another headline name from the track's home stable history, frequently mentioned alongside Ina Scot in the roll call of Mantorp-associated champions.

Over the decades, winners of Mantorp's signature races have included elite Swedish horses such as Mack Lobell (Östgötaloppet 1990), Conny Nobell (Östgötaloppet 2005), Going Kronos (2007), Ecurie D. and Muscle Hustle (2017) — a list that places Mantorp firmly on the map of Swedish trotting excellence.

Signature races at Mantorp Travbana

Four races define Mantorp's competitive calendar. Each has its own identity and role in the Swedish trotting season.

Mantorp also hosts ATG's V75 — Sweden's flagship betting format — multiple times per year, which brings national attention and significant wagering volume to the track regardless of the specific race card.

Legendary trainers in Mantorp's history

Mantorp has served as home base for some of the most respected names in the history of Swedish harness racing. Historic track champions ("banchampions") include:

• Kjell P. Dahlström — the defining figure of modern Mantorp, trainer of Ina Scot
• Helen A. Johansson — the first female Prix d'Amérique winner
• Claes Svensson
• Carl-Erik Lindblom
• Bo W Takter
• Jan and Ulf Nordin

This lineage matters. It positions Mantorp not as a track that occasionally produces stars, but as an ecosystem that has repeatedly incubated Swedish harness racing excellence across generations.

What makes Mantorp Travbana unique: the summary

Four distinct qualities set Mantorp Hästsportarena apart from other Swedish trotting venues:

1. Tactical specialisation. The 177-metre homestretch and 23-metre track width combine to create a venue where pace, positioning and early acceleration matter more than raw late-race finishing kick. Trainers who know the track well have a genuine structural edge.
2. Unmatched heritage. Mantorp is the only Swedish track that can claim to be the home and final resting place of a Prix d'Amérique winner. Ina Scot's grave next to the winners' circle gives the venue a tangible, physical connection to the peak of international trotting.
3. Volume and commercial relevance. 15–20 race days per year and regular V75 hosting make Mantorp one of Sweden's most commercially important mid-sized tracks, punching well above its nominal classification.
4. Strategic geography. Located just off the E4 in the geographic centre of southern Sweden, Mantorp is reachable within reasonable travel distance for trainers, owners and bettors from Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and everywhere in between — a logistical advantage that has sustained its trainer ecosystem for six decades.

A final local curiosity: just a short distance from the trotting track sits Mantorp Park, one of Sweden's largest motor racing circuits. Mantorp is genuinely a rare dual-horsepower town — a place where both kinds of speed have deep roots.

Visiting Mantorp Hästsportarena

Address:

Västerlösavägen 12, 590 17 Mantorp

Region:

Östergötland, approximately 10 km northeast of Mjölby

Access:

Just off the E4 motorway in southern Sweden

Racing days:

15–20 per year, including regular V75 rounds

For owners, trainers and enthusiasts of Swedish trotting, Mantorp Travbana is not just a track — it is a living chapter in the history of Swedish harness racing, and one of the few venues in Europe where the past, present and future of the sport share the same physical ground.

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