It’s the thrill of victory for Magnusson at Cal Expo
February 3, 2011,by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo
Sacramento, CA — From her native Sweden, to Italy, to a stopover in Florida, Linda Magnusson has found a home in Sacramento at Cal Expo. She is an outrider by day and a harness horse owner by night, with nine performers currently carrying her banner.
“My dad was a trainer back home in Sweden, and eventually I went to Italy and spent some time there,” Magnusson explained. “After I met Carl and Rod Allen, they offered me the chance to come to the United States for the first time.”
That was in 2000, and after spending six months with the Allens in Florida, Linda met Dr. Harvey Stein at a horse sale and came to California that summer to work for him. She’s been here ever since.
“It was interesting when I first came to the United States, because we only have trotters in Sweden and it was the first time I was ever around any pacers. After I’d been here in California for a time, I started working for Rocky Stidham and got to be around some real nice horses like Eaton Road Kill and Rowdy Somolli. I learned a lot working at his barn.”
It was three years ago that Linda first got her name on the program as an owner with a pacer named Heart Of Hearts, and fast-forward to 2011 and you’ll find a slew of winner’s circle photos in the scrapbook. And her favorite among those pictures?
“That would be Winning Star,” she responded. “I took care of him for some time before I ever owned him and we had quite a bond. You couldn’t ask for more from a racehorse. As far as winning a race goes, especially with a horse like him, it doesn’t get any better.”
Linda, who goes back to Sweden for a visit every once in a while, points out that the trotters are a major sports attraction in that country, much more than the Thoroughbreds.
“Harness racing is probably the third most popular sport in the country behind hockey and soccer. They love their trotters in Sweden.”
Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (Feb. 3) and continues through Saturday (Feb. 5). Post time on Thursday is 5:30 p.m. (PST). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6 p.m.