Some of the biggest events in harness racing took place on this day in history. Here's a look back at October 1 throughout the years
thanks to Bob "Hollywood" Heyden.
October 1, 1972
Steady Star, with Joe O'Brien driving, set a world pacing record at Lexington. He time trialed in 1:52 to wipe out the old mark of 1:53.3 held by the great Bret Hanover.
October 1, 1979
Genghis Khan in a very forgettable time trial of 1:57. Three years later he would set the world race record of 1:51.4 in August of 1982 at the Meadowlands.
October 1, 1980
Niatross. 1:49.1 Time Trial. First ever sub-1:50 effort anywhere.
O'Brien was asked before the time trial to compare Steady Star to Niatross. He said there was no comparison.
"Steady Star was not a real good racehorse, he got too racy and too eager a lot of time before he even got to the gate. Niatross is the best horse I have ever seen. Niatross can pace whatever Clint wants him to pace, either in a race or a time trial."
October 1, 1988
Exactly eight years later to the day, Call For Rain becomes the first older horse to win a race in sub-1:50 with a 1:49.3 score by 7 lengths over Happy Affair at The Red Mile. This gave Clint Galbraith harness racing's first sub-1:50 time trial AND race mile.
I had just started being a
I had just started being a racing fan. Those were the days where harness racing was in the news. The records achieved by Niatross were mentioned in every newspaper in Montreal. The horse even made the six o’clock news when he first set foot(hoof) in Montreal. It is sad that, today, the stars of harness racing are rarely mentioned in the news media. Let me bring you back to Memory lane – 14th Edition of the Prix D’Ete – 1980 – Blue Bonnets.
1. Trenton Time – William Haughton 5-1 (Morning Line Odds)
2. Treasure Reef – Glen Garnsey 15-1
3. Tyrant – Dr. John Hayes 10-1
4. Dorado Hanover – Gilles Gendron 30-1
5. Niatross – Clint Galbraith 1/5
6. Safe Arrival – William Gilmour 8-1
7. Teddy Be Ready – Guy Larush 50-1
8. J.D.’s Buck – James Miller 25-1
9. Bold Rush – John Campbell 20-1
10. Kawartha Tarson – Ron Waples 40-1
11. Justin Passing – Doug Arthur 3-1
Of course Niatross won the race.
The only possible error/typo on the Program was that Ron Waples was at 145 lbs!!! Yeah, right! (:-)...
At the time this was the
At the time this was the most fantastic thing I had ever seen in harness racing history.
The prompters in this memorial time trial deserve a great deal of credit. They did a heck of a job. I am not sure if one of them was Howard Beissinger but regardless they did a heck of a job as did the great Niatross.
I just watched it for the
I just watched it for the first time and it gave me shivers. Must of been awesome to have been there in person.
I was there!!! And believe
I was there!!! And believe me the only word to describe it was electrifying!
To this day I still regard it as. arguably. the greatest performance I have ever watched in my almost 55 years in this sport!
They were real Harness Racing fans in those days!
The Niatross time trial - if
The Niatross time trial - if that doesn't send chills up and down your spine nothing will! That's the first thing that came to my mind the first time I visited The Red Mile. I stood at the end of the stretch and pictured him and Clint thundering down the track to the roar of the crowd. What an awesome and magical performance!