Arch Madness: from "go" to "no go"

As of 9 am Friday morning, Arch Madness was not scheduled to make the trip to Sweden to compete in the Elitlopp on Sunday, May 30. Owner Barry Goldstein told harnessracing.com that the plan for the horse to compete in the race fell through.

 

"I feel like the girl shopping for the dress for the prom, and then I get a call and suddenly I don't need to buy a dress," said Goldstein.

 

Arch Madness was invited to the Elitlopp following his huge 1:51 win over Lucky Jim in the Cutler Memorial last Saturday night at the Meadowlands. Lucky Jim left for Stockholm on Monday night, flying first to Amsterdam and then being shipped via van to a farm near Stockholm. Plans were in the works for Arch Madness to fly to Stockholm on Monday, May 24, arriving about a week before the race.

 

One source who requested anonymity speculated that Arch Madness was uninvited to the Elitlopp because he has raced on Lasix, and Swedish racing rules prohibit the anti-bleeder medication. Trainer Trond Smedshammer understood that Arch Madness would not be able to race on Lasix in Sweden, but race organizers supposedly were uncomfortable with inviting a horse who raced on Lasix.