Chairman of the South African Harness Racing Association (HRSA) Dean Latimer announced last night that the Secretary General of the Swedish Trotting Confederation, Mr Ulf Hörnberg , has been appointed to the board of HRSA.

Speaking from his Greyville racecourse offices, Mr Latimer was enthusiastic about the benefits of this appointment for the sport in South Africa . “The integrity and huge betting pools of Sweden 's harness racing industry are held in high esteem and envied worldwide. We are lucky to have this alignment. Mr Hörnberg is a man with considerable international racing administration experience, and can contribute significantly to our endeavours locally”.

Sweden already has a number of developmental initiatives in place in South Africa , and their big tote operator ATG is providing the funding mechanism for introduction of trotting as a sport and industry in South Africa .

Launch of Swedish harness racing simulcasts in South Africa is scheduled for 6 th November 2006, with live physical harness racing set to follow in mid 2007.