Swedish Olsson Hopes to Make Name at Gulfstream

Fanny Olsson | Ryan Thompson

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Fanny Olsson measures success differently than most every other jockey at Gulfstream. She knows she's not going to have any four-win days and a good mount in a stakes race is probably not going to happen. When you come here, a female, unknown and out of a country, Sweden, that most people in the U.S. probably don't even know has thoroughbred racing, you relish every small victory.

Which is why last Friday may have been the best day of Olsson's riding career thus far. She won the first race at Gulfstream, a $12,500 claimer, and finished second in the third, another $12,500 claiming race. In doing so, she inched closer to her goal, convincing trainers that she has what it takes to ride on a regular basis.

“I wish I could make a living off just riding races and not to have to keep galloping horses in the morning,” said Olsson, who supplements her living by exercising horses in the mornings and ponying horses in the afternoons. “That is my dream, to just ride races for a living. That's where I'd love to be in a couple of years.”

It looks like she is getting there. While Olsson, 26, still struggles to get mounts, she has more than made the best of her opportunities. After Friday's rides, she had six winners on the year from 28 mounts, winning at a 21 percent rate.

She knew almost nothing about American racing until she came to Gulfstream some eight years ago with her then-boyfriend, who was hoping to ride a few races in America. It was an eye-opening trip.

“Since that trip, my dream was always to come back,” she said. “I thought it was such a cool country and the racing is so big here. The way they do everything here is such a big difference from home. Since then, it was always my dream to get over here and ride races.”

Riding in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, Olsson started off in pony races, became an amateur rider and then an apprentice. Norway is the only country in the world where whipping is not allowed, a practice that may be adopted some day in the U.S. Olsson said she's not a fan of the rules in Norway.

“The turns in Norway on the turf and dirt are very sharp and the whip helps you steer the horses,” she said. “If you look at races in Norway, they are riding ugly. They are trying to whip the reins, they are trying to kick the horses with the short irons. It doesn't look good because people are trying to do whatever they can to get the horses to run faster. Maybe here they should have a rule where you can only hit a horse five times. In Sweden, it is there times. It's unfair to not have the whip.”

Though she enjoyed success as an apprentice, Olsson had difficulty getting mounts after her weight allowance was gone. With only 75 days of thoroughbred racing a year in harness-racing mad Sweden, Olsson figured there had to be a better place out there where she could make a good living. In November, 2018, she packed her bags and headed to Florida.

“I have some friends here and I love the weather,” she said. “I came here eight years ago and just thought it was beautiful.”

She didn't start riding at first. She focused on exercising horses in the morning and getting to know the Florida trainers. She had her first U.S. mount on May 25 and her first U.S. winner on Aug. 2, winning for trainer Jorge Delgado. She says that Delgado is the primary reason why she has a high winning percentage. He may not put her on a lot of horses, but when he does they are usually in spors where they have every chance to win.

“I have had such good opportunities to ride horses for Jorge Delgado,” she said. “He's really been helping me out. He told me that when he was younger, he was in my position as a trainer. No one wanted help him out. He said he likes me on the horses and that the horses like me too. I have to give all the credit to him. Without him, I'd never be where I am at now.”

But she knows she has to find a way to convince trainers other than Delgado to give her a chance.

“Yes, it can be frustrating,” she said. “Jorge has given me the chance to ride some really good horses and they have run well for me. I wish other people would put me up. I'd definitely love to get more rides. In the mornings, I always ask people if they have something for me to ride. I just don't want to be too pushy. Maybe it will pick up in the summer.”

She said that when she first came to the U.S. she thought about a triumphant return to Sweden, that having success in Florida would help her open doors with trainers in her native country. Now, she is determined to stay.

“If I can keep picking up rides I will stay,” she said. “I love it over here.”

Olsson didn't pick an easy place to break in. The Gulfstream riding colony during the “Championship Meet” is arguably the best in the world. But she's patient, motivated and winning with 21 percent of her rides. She hopes that the right combination to beat the odds.

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