Niatross (1977–1999) was an American champion

standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

race horse that many believe was the greatest harness horse of all time.

Background

The son of Albatross out of the mare Niagara Dream, Niatross was foaled on March 30, 1977. He was trained and driven by co-owner Clint Galbraith.

Racing career

In September 1979, after Niatross won his first six races, a half interest in him was sold to Stockbroker Lou Guida and the Niatross syndicate for $2.5 million. He was unbeaten in 13 starts in his 2-year-old season, when he was named

Harness Horse of the Year The Harness Horse of the Year is an honor recognizing the top harness racing horse in the United States. The award is selected by the United States Trotting Association and the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), which issues the an ...

. His earnings of $604,900 were a two-year-old record for either the Standardbred or Thoroughbred breed. In 1980, Niatross won The Meadowlands Pace, which was the first million dollar race in either standardbred or thoroughbred racing history. He also won the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. In a time trial at

The Red Mile The Red Mile is a horse racing track located in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The track hosts harness racing, a type of horse racing in which the horses must pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies while racing. It is one of harness racing's m ...

in Lexington, Kentucky he beat the world record by three seconds, setting a mark of 1:49.1."The day Niatross broke the 1:50 barrier", Standardbred Canada
Retrieved 10 January 2016 In addition to his time trial he paced the fastest race miles on one mile (1.52.1) and half mile (1.54.4) tracks. The 1980 season brought Niatross 24 wins from 26 starts. Early in the 1980 season Niatross won the

Cane Pace The Cane Pace is a harness horse race for standardbred pacers run annually since 1955. The race was first run as the William H. Cane Futurity in 1955 at Yonkers Raceway in New York. In 1956 the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the Messe ...

before racing at the Saratoga Standardbred track in Saratoga, NY, where he spooked and fell over the inside hubrail and was defeated for the first time. In an elimination for the Meadowlands Pace, he broke stride, lost valuable ground, regained his gait and, in what Stanley Dancer described as the greatest performance he had seen, recovered and finished 4th, qualifying for the final. In the Meadowlands Pace final, Niatross went right to the front and never looked back, winning by 4 1/2 lengths from Storm Damage in 1.53.1 as the 2-5 favourite. He set a world record for his age and was only 1/5 of a second outside of the overall world record. Trainer Clint Galbraith described the race as being more important than any race in Niatross' career.Niatross, The Horseman and Fair World, 9 June 1999, Horseman Publishing Company Niatross went on to beat all of his competition easily in future starts, frequently setting track records, including a new race, track and Canadian record during the prestigious Prix d'Été at Blue Bonnets racetrack in

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. He also won the Gaines Memorial at Vernon Downs, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Pace at the Meadowlands, the Dancer Memorial at Freehold and the American Classic at Hollywood Park. In the Little Brown Jug Niatross recorded wins in straight heats of 1.55 and 1.54.4 setting six world records before a record Jug crowd of 45,621. He then won the Messenger Stakes to complete the Triple Crown. A December appearance at Pompano Park, his last career race, brought a crowd of more than 23,000.

Time Trial

Until 1980 the fastest mile recorded in harness racing was 1.52.0 by Steady Star. On October 1, 1980 Niatross time trialled at

in Lexington, Kentucky with a previous best of 1.52.4 recorded at Syracuse earlier in the year. At The Red Mile Niatross reached the quarter mile in 27.3 almost one second faster than Steady Star's record and the half mile in 54.3 equal with Steady Star. Reaching the three quarter mile in 1.21.4, a 27.2 last quarter resulted in a mile of 1.49.1, the fastest ever by 2 4/5 seconds.

Stud career

By the time Niatross retired to stud at

Castleton Farm Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse-racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm. History The farm was established in 1793 when Virginian John Breckinridge, a future U.S. senator and a ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, in 1981, he had earned more prize money than any other

horse in history. He had been named Harness Horse of the Year in 1979 and 1980, the New York Post Athlete of the Year in 1980, and Harness Horse of the Decade for the 1980s. At stud, he commanded a top price for his services. Among his progeny were winners of the Little Brown Jug. One son, Nihilator, won Horse of the Year honors and his first two crops earned $8.6 million. Niatross was relocated to Pine Hollow Farm in New York in 1983 and to Saratoga Standardbred Farm in 1986 however he was not as successful in New York as he had been in Kentucky. In 1996, when he was 19 years old, Niatross made a 20-city tour for his fans in

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and the

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. In 1997, he was inducted as a member of the Living Horse Hall of Fame. In May 1999, he took ill and was transported to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

's New Bolton Center where he was diagnosed with a large cancerous mass in his abdomen. On June 7, 1999, Niatross was humanely euthanized."Niatross put to sleep after cancer found"

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, June 8, 1999, Retrieved on 10 January 2016 He was cremated with his remains interred at the Hall Of Fame Museum in

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Pedigree

References

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