Race Rewind: 1985 Jug Day Invite
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"If you have never been on your feet, you better get up now!"
The year was 1985, and the talk of the harness racing world was pacing colt Nihilator. His connections had hopes of making him harness racing's fastest horse ever, a title they tried to wrestle from the colt's sire -- Niatross.
In one way they did, with a 1:49.3 race mile -- the fastest ever, but still slower than the 1:49.1 time trial of Niatross. And they did set the earnings record by becoming the first Standardbred to surpass $3 million in earnings.
Another colt from that crop, however, upstaged Nihilator on the same card as one of his biggest triumphs. And that moment, rated #13 in Trot Magazine's top 40 moments of the last 40 years, took place 30 years ago Saturday.
#13 - Falcon Seelster 1:51 mile on Little Brown Jug day in 1985
September 19, 1985, Delaware County Fair - Ineligible to race in the Little Brown Jug but wanting to make a statement, three-year-old Falcon Seelster wows the harness racing world on the Jug undercard in Delaware, Ohio. He wins the race by the length of the stretch, in a world record time of 1:51.
The previous world record over a half-mile track was held by Its Fritz, who paced 1:53.2 (12 lengths slower) as an aged horse. And while the iconic call of Roger Huston has lasted longer than the world record, Falcon Seelster's record stood for an incredible 17 years.