I saw Niatross fall over the rail in Saratoga. He was Elite and honestly rarely even seemed to have to over extend himself. There will never be another. The Michael Jordan of Harness Racing forever!

Track announcer: Ed Gorman

Niatross clearly the best of all time. Out of the 9 post. And a world record at 2.

@williamfluck148

4 жыл бұрын

You tell them Janelle, the 9 post was a tough post, he beat them all, I was up in the Pegasus, Niatross was home free!

@janelle7668

4 жыл бұрын

William Fluck I always will say that Niatross was the best we’ve ever seen. I don’t care who came along after that. Times and equipment is far different than it was back in 1979/80. I was honored to see Niatross win the Messenger Stake at Roosevelt October 1980. 🐴💜

@parkerbohnn

4 жыл бұрын

@@janelle7668 I saw Niatross live at Greenwood Raceway. I'd still say Mission Brief is the best I've ever seen.

@janelle7668

4 жыл бұрын

parkerbohnn Maybe to you Mission Brief is your #1 standardbred but for the time and given the track Nd the equipment in 1979/1980 Niatross still comes out on top for me. Mission Brief was an outstanding trotter and made a lot of money. It’s just personal opinion. 🐴💜

If Niatross ran with today’s equipment he would be blowing up track records, world records etc. There have been many elite runners since, few can be mentioned in the same breath

Thank you for posting . Every once in awhile I get a story about Clint Galbraith and Niatross that I add to my Dad's Binders that I made for his birthday. and the odd time I am sent photo's

@markrocovich2234

7 жыл бұрын

Kimberly Galbraith Kim..i owe your dad a debt of gratitude,for if I had not said yes to going to the Meadowlands when I worked for him, i would have never wound up working for Ray Flis later that year...the 3 YEARS i spent there due to your dad were some of the most enjoyable in the 40 years of racing for me...

@parkerbohnn

5 жыл бұрын

Kimberly Galbraith Here's one you haven't heard yet. I was at Greenwood racetrack way back when on that cold Saturday afternoon when Niatross was there. After the last race some crazed lunatic made all these crazy hand gestures and put both hands on his head then ran after every program the race goers threw to the ground as they left that day. I still remember that guy to this day. All you could hear was the guy yell oh, ha, ha and ran after programs like people where throwing hundred dollar bills on the ground.

@janelle7668

4 жыл бұрын

parkerbohnn 🐴🤣

Greatness revealed

One small piece of history is ignored in the saga of Niatross..Charlie Clark, who trained and drove the ill-fated Whamo, raced his sire, Flying Bret against the greatest horse at that time, Albatross..

@parkerbohnn

5 жыл бұрын

I owned a Flying Bret colt. Time Flys

Yeah I totally agree baseballeddie1177...What the heck kinda of steer was that..He was closing the gap the whole way down the stretch sideways..And when he straightened him out in like the last 100 yards he was closing strong...He dam sure coulda won this race

@williamfluck148

4 жыл бұрын

I was there and Whamo wasn't gonna catch Niatross, no way, no how. That's all wouldacouldashoda, Whamo was advancing after Niatross was home free!! He had his chances against Niatross, no where near as good a horse!!

@parkerbohnn

4 жыл бұрын

@@williamfluck148 Whamo was the king of the half mile ovals. Die Laughing was the same the king of the half mile ovals.

@williamfluck148

4 жыл бұрын

Whamo WAS NEVER GOING TO WIN THIS RACE!!!!!!!!!¡

you cant compare horses that raced 3 decades apart Niatross was the best horse Ive ever seen(I was at Hollywood Park when he broke the existing world record) nobody could beat him then if he raced 30 years later nobody would beat him then either

@parkerbohnn

5 жыл бұрын

somebeachsomewhere with a real driver like Campbell would have been the best anyone would have seen in the modern era. Campbell at the time would have been at least one second or 5 lengths better or faster than Paul McDonnell. Dan Patch without a doubt was the best who ever raced.

Galbraith looking over his shoulder in the stretch several times, Nobody Was Going To Catch be Him!!!!! The driver on Whamo did what his horse could do a No Match, Galbraith eased Niatross to the wire, he didn't care if it LOOKED LIKE Whamo was coming, he Wasn't!!! Niatross won at the Meadowlands and if you did, you be were the BEST, PERIOD!!!

@williamfluck148

4 жыл бұрын

Half mile tracks suck, harness racing was dead till The Pond Opened in 76!!!

LITTLE CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE MAN WHO BROKE THE GREAT HORSE ROY LAWSON AND THE FINISH TOUCHES WERE PUT ON BY THE GREAT CLINTON GALBRAITH WHAT A SHOW HE PUT ON AT GREENWOOD I REMEMBER CLINT FIRST SPECIAL HORSE HELEN BROOKE K

@parkerbohnn

5 жыл бұрын

Remember who was second that race? Harold Stead on Armbro Turk. If you were hear the paddock after the last race as people left: Here's one you haven't heard yet. I was at Greenwood racetrack way back when on that cold Saturday afternoon when Niatross was there. After the last race some crazed lunatic made all these crazy hand gestures and put both hands on his head then ran after every program the race goers threw to the ground as they left that day. I still remember that guy to this day. All you could hear was the guy yell oh, ha, ha and ran after programs like people where throwing hundred dollar bills on the ground.

One moe piece of info for you mutton heads out there..when Niatross was beaten in the Meadowlands Pace Elim..He had to win a Show Photo to make the final...Safe Arrival and Herve hung Niatross out to dry and he had to survive a 5-minute foto for the show..The horse he beat???Denali..Doug A. said after that this was one of the few times he was NOT aggravated by losing the photofinish ..History will establish that Niatross went on to set a World Record in the Pace Final, and went on to bigger and greater things in his career, and Denali carved out a workmanlike niche of his own during his racing and stallion career...

@BigGuyDave524

8 жыл бұрын

wrong he won a 4th place photo in the meadowlands pace elim. he was beaten by bruce gimble , gimmie getme and fundementalest all went by him that night , so look it up mutton head , I was there , and its a fact

@markrocovich2234

8 жыл бұрын

I stand corrected, however, Denali WAS the unfortunate loser of the foto that allowed Niatross to dance in the MP final....

@BigGuyDave524

8 жыл бұрын

you are right . I do remember controversy about that photo

@BigGuyDave524

8 жыл бұрын

Mark you do know lots about harness racing , that summer of 1980 , I spent lots of time at the meadowlands and later in august when the meet ended , I went to the old Roosevelt Raceway , for the first time , saw the international trot the first time I went over there , Classical Way with john simpson jr won it she beat the great Ideal Du GazeauI bet I spelled that wrong lol

@markrocovich2234

8 жыл бұрын

Dave... funny you should reference the RI from 1980 and Classical Way...I'm racing in Cleveland now and the identifier in the paddock is one of my best friends...His name is Tony Drago...oh and by the way, he was Classical Way's caretaker for her entire career...Cool, huh???

For Meadowlands harness racing handicapping thoughts and insights, hometrackadvantage com

3/2 lol seriously

Well niaspeed is Denali was sore and not 100% ...He smokes Niatross if he's healthy...I'm not sure what your talking about saying they coulda went around again and niatross would win..He was all out and Denali was going sideways for most of the stretch....I'm not really sure why this horse got so much attention..Was he good yes..Somebeachsomewhere would have destroyed this horse in a match race..

@gene11eleven

8 жыл бұрын

+jay Carlin (jpatrick79) Don't know what races you were watching. Niatross was THE horse.

@markrocovich2234

8 жыл бұрын

Jay i guess you have a wealth of experience when it comes to match races..the ONLY thing it proves is which horse is faster in a 1/4 mile dash for home...Stamina, versatility and overall toughness never come into play...any cheap rabbit can get to the 1/4 pole in sub:26 these days so head-to-head racing has gone the way of the leather hobble...

@brianjschumer

6 жыл бұрын

jay Carlin Jay..I dont know what your watching..Although Mark R. comments on every race, and is your resident posting, know it all, he knows his stuff..Some beachsomewhere, could not beat Niatross, we owned Treasure Reefs -half brother, Destiny Reef. We where there and have been since 70's..Somebeach was not as good as Blacksafake who was Australia's best at that time

@parkerbohnn

4 жыл бұрын

Somebeachsomewhere with a real driver would destroy them all. Mission Brief is the best I've seen but with a real driver like Campbell or Ron Waples senior Somebeachsomewhere could have gone a 1:45 or sub 1:45 clocking at the red mile making him the greatest moose ever.

Here are some pertinent facts for you dummies who OBVIOUSLY were not around to witness these horses race in the flesh, otherwise you all would have a clue...Ed Gorman was the announcer at the Big M until he was replaced by Tom Durkin and the by John Bothe..Denali was not sore at any time that year,,Doug Sr..made it a practice that his horse wore no head poles until absolutely necessary(he should have worn them on Denali,though) This group of 2-yo's was very talented and several of them raced large as aged horses..The only horse in this crop that had the talent to beat Niatross sadly never got the chance..Later that year,Whamo took ill at the Red Mile and never raced again,,several weeks later, he was rushed to the University of Florida at Gainesville, wher he died while undergoing treatment at the veterinary college..Tyler B, Denali, Storm Damage,Safe Arrival along with Niatross went on to have successful stud careers after they retired from racing...

@BigGuyDave524

8 жыл бұрын

+Mark Rocovich r 100 percent right , I was there for these races back in the late 70 s and 80 s , that was a really nice crop of 2 yr olds , I still go to the meadowlands , but I miss the old days late 70 s , early 80 s , was so much fun , and the racing was top notch

@Firestone1

8 жыл бұрын

+Mark Rocovich Was the announcer for that race, Ed Gorman? He was good!

@markrocovich2234

8 жыл бұрын

+Mark H Yes he was..Ed was hired by Mr.Quigley for the job from day one...Ed was a fan favorite at the old Liberty Bell Race Track and the EasternSeaboard fans were accustomed to his style...He was the perfect foil to the Metropolitan New York announcers Bob Meyer and the one-and-only Jack E.Lee...

@Firestone1

8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info. Back in the day, the announcers we had at our tracks in the Toronto area(Greenwood, Mohawk) were decent but not great. Whenever they beamed a race in from the Big M, i remember thinking his calls were better than anything I had ever heard. He made a boring race sound exciting. Did he retire, or was he just replaced?

@markrocovich2234

8 жыл бұрын

+Mark H Greetings from south of the border!!! Ed G. was replaced by John Bothe in the mid-1980's in a contract dispute plus a couple of other issues...I raced at both Mohawk and Greenwood and the lesser-known Garden City Raceway in the 1970's and the Golden Horseshoe Circuit as it was known, had two very capable announcers in John Crake and the more well-known Earl Lennox..Garden City was a summertime track that was a buffer meet between Mohawk and Greenwood and it was a very quaint facility...

denali should have won this--got butchered by DR

@kevinpratt5436

3 жыл бұрын

Crooked, probably sore, would have been a real threat from that trip otherwise.