by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Newsroom Senior Correspondent

The 4-year-old Italian trotter Twister Bi, driven by Johnny Takter, won in 1:51.4f at Halmstad Monday night (May 9) and thus is the fastest trotter in the world so far in 2016.

Kanal 75 photo

Twister Bi won in 1:51.4f at Halmstad Monday night.

Twister Bi was in command the whole trip and won easily by 3-1/2 lengths.

He lowered his mark from 1:57.1f in winning for the fifth time this year from eight races.

Twister Bi, who is sired by Varenne, is trained by Jerry Riordan, who decided to race Twister Bi without four shoes for the first time ever.

The win was worth $7,500, bringing his lifetime earnings up to $82.700.