Drivers profile by Kimberly Rinker, Maywood Park/Chicago

Christian Mayr wears the colorful red and white barred silks representative of his native Austria, where harness racing is quite popular throughout the country, but especially in the capital city of Vienna, at the Krieau racetrack. This sand-based track, built in 1878, is a little over a half-mile around, and horses start nine across. There, harness racing is conducted March through June, on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Krieau track was heavily bombed and had to be nearly completely restored after World War II. In the 1960s the famed Austrian oval got another facelift, this time complemented by an enclosed grandstand and clubhouse that cost over seven million Austrian shillings. Driving for the first time on American soil, Christian Mayr represents the spirit of Austria’s most renowned harness venue.