I was there that day and I can add some facts. Fact 1.) And the biggest factor IMO. The weather leading up to that race was terrible. Fact 2.) The race was delayed nearly 2 hours, not the racing card, just that race as they reworked the track with graders and harrows. I witnessed it. I believe this was done for two reasons. The Niatross connections threatened to scratch because the track was so bad. Second reason was greed by track management. Niatross had been going from track to track and breaking track records where ever he raced. Management wanted Niatross to be the track record holder and it almost turned into a tragedy. When you watch the video notice how far they are racing from the hub rail first time around. It was like quick sand down there and when Niatross shied from the right side whip he bore in a little, he wanted out of that stuff and jumped the rail. does anybody know of another time in racing where they decided to delay the race for nearly 2 hours while they resurfaced the track for such a big race??? I thought it very strange that day and still do.
@jamsid33 I find your post insulting to one of the few class acts of harness racing. Clint Galbraith has forgotten more then 30 great drivers will ever know. For you information Clint was the first man to go sub 1:50 in a time trial and the first man to go sub 1:50 in a race with Call for Rain! He knew his horses and he made his horses! Clint Galbraith not only great trainer/driver but a great man in all aspects of life! This man always took the time to talk with young drivers.
Jordon Matthews I had the pleasure of working for Clint at Ben White in early 1990. None of the grooms wanted to go to Jersey with 3 racers, so I said HELL YES!! Clints operation was i decline at that stage, and I could tell that winning was no longer important. I parted company on good terms with Clint, and the next 3 years I spent with Ray Flis were some of the best in my 40+ years in racing...I owe a debt of gratitude to Clint..
A great argument for taking out the hub rail and installing "cones" instead. Which they eventually did. Clint Galbraith wasn't Dave Palone as a pure driver, but he wasn't a slouch; check out the number of wins he accumulated in his career. He was a good horseman.
Clint Galbraith is a Great Man on and off the track. He never looked down on anyone even though he could have. He treated the common person just like if they were king or queen. I am thankful for the honor of talking to this man to have his ear was an honor!
I guess you don't know about Somebeachsomewhere? He only lost once in his life and it was 2nd by a nose in a world record of 1:47 he had a horrible trip 2nd in a million dollar race. Then the horse blistered a world record of 1:46.4 Won all his races but one and finshed 2nd by nose in his sole defeat.
I was standing at the finish line that day. It was incredible to hear thousands of people all draw in their breath at the same time. And as I remember, Saratoga Raceway did not allow win betting on this race!!
it was a shame to see the great horse go over the rail but he was beat just one of though days but he still is one of the greatest to were hopples NIATROSS I HAVE TO SAYMY ORDER OF WATCHING HORSES CAM FELLA NIATROSS FORREST SKIPPER ASK FOR TROUBLE GALLO BLUE CHIP SEVENBWILLY KEYSTONE KELLY SOMEBEACHSOME WHERE
@jamsid33 Your right! Do you know who was slated to drive Cambest that day? Walter Case Jr. Cambest time trial should have an * next to it. Should say horse did this mile with a pound of baking soda in his system. There are no drug tests in time trials. Hanover farms dropped cambest as a stud because of his postive test.
PEOPLE DOWN GRADE CLINT OUT OF JEALOUSNESS THE MAN HAD TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS NIATROSS AND CALL FOR RAIN CINT DAD WAS ALSO WELL KNOWN IN CANADA IN THE 50.S GRANT GALBRAITH FROM STAYNER ONTARIO
@howardm74 you are right about Cambest and you are right about Walter Case Jr. I never bet Norfield Park but when Walter drove there I bet the races because he is the only driver I ever saw that I enjoyed watching drive a horse.
@jamsid33 Clint Galbraith was never a catch driver but he has 3,062 driving wins and $20 million in purses as a driver! That is direct from US trotting records. A statue could never win that many races. Niatross won 37 of 39 lifetime starts. Clint Galbraith was the first driver to go sub 1:50. He drove the first 3 sub 1:50 miles. Niatross 1:49.1 and Call for Rain twice in 1:49.3.
Jordon Matthews Just so you know...Clint drove Tarport Hap for Del Miller on a couple of occasions, and Kash Minbar in the aged SS at Syracuse for Jimmy Cruise..the old-school drivers used to catch drive for each other when the GC was actually relevant...
@howardm74 i am not disputing anything that you say about Clint as a man and trainer, I am sure Steve Smith is a great guy but nobody would put him up in a big race with Brenna, Sears, Tetrick ect available. All I am saying is that if O'Donnell or Campbell were aboard Niatross the horse would have gone faster, not win more races, just gone faster. You cant dispute that.
Was there on rail watching race that day with my camera when accident happened directly in front of me was sorry to rip tickets up But happy harness racing royalty was not Seriously hurt
Something had to be wrong with him that day. I've been watching and wagering on harness racing for 30+ years and I've only seen that one other time...perhaps it was broken equipment?? As bad as his driver was with those incredibly slow fractions he should have won by opens...like I said either he was hurt , sick or had equiptment problems. Greatest pacer of the modern era with his son Nihilator the only threat. Jmo
Yeah something was wrong with Niatross that day there is no way he should have lost. He did have problems with the footing of Saratoga at that time it was clay track. He jumped the rail because he had never gotten whipped like he did that day. I know because I talked to Clint Galbraith many times. Clint is the nicest kindest person. He will sit down and talk to anyone. He talked to me as a teen. I was honored to be in a qualifier with Clint Galbraith at Vernon Downs in 1990 when i was 16 years old and only had my Qualifier license. That changed I had my P license before I graduated high school. Nice man Clint was and I was there this day of the race with my dad I was 6 years old.
matthew mauran I think your right. Niatross gave up th lead. Clint was not afraid to use the whip which scared the horse causing him to jump the rail. I'worked for Clint awesome man. He had good clock in his head and good with the whip and he wasn't scared of any horse. I remember a horse Kashmir Quiz every groom had him unpredictable horse with lots of drama. I got my shot with him he ended striking me and Clint said enough and ended gelding him.
@howardm74- Imagine how many wins Case could have if he hadn't spent fully half his driving career suspended because he lacked the willpower to keep his nose out of the coke bowl.
NO ONE EVER MENTIONS THAT IF NIATROSS HAD BEEN DRIVEN BY A "REAL DRIVER" [CLINT G. WAS POOR AT BEST], WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH GREATER HE WOULD HAVE BEEN. MIKE [Yonkers, N.Y
@jamsid33 Well horses back then were much different then they are today. Niatross would make breaks. As far as O'Donnell and Campbell there big money drivers but not speed drivers. Now if we Say Walter Case JR or The Minister of Speed George Brennan than yes faster! Those 2 guys Brennan and Case could get more out of any horse I have ever seen!
Check out the 1979 woodrow wilson, Niatross should have lost this one too --to Denali who lugged in badly in the stretch,recovered and narrowly missed beating niatross.Denali was butchered by DR.
I was there that day. Conditions were crazy. Mud was like 2 feet deep. Galbraith threatened to scratch his horse, not wanting to take chances on an injury. They delayed the race for more than 45 minutes while they had all kinds of trucks out there, scraping the mud off. It was supposed to be a cakewalk for Niatross, because he had the rail and really no one in the race that had ever been able to compete with him. Anyhow, the track was still crap when the race went off. The rail was totally dead. They didn't scrape the inside lane well enough. It was about 5 seconds slower than the second lane. Niatross was a VERY tired horse by the time he reached headstretch. He was like carrying 1,000 pounds on his back the whole way. The whole thing was very dumb, the way it turned out, and meaningless from a sporting point of view. Galbraith SHOULD have scratched his horse. Because look what happened! Not the loss of the race, which meant nothing at all, but the near disastrous accident.
I was there that day and I can add some facts. Fact 1.) And the biggest factor IMO. The weather leading up to that race was terrible. Fact 2.) The race was delayed nearly 2 hours, not the racing card, just that race as they reworked the track with graders and harrows. I witnessed it. I believe this was done for two reasons. The Niatross connections threatened to scratch because the track was so bad. Second reason was greed by track management. Niatross had been going from track to track and breaking track records where ever he raced. Management wanted Niatross to be the track record holder and it almost turned into a tragedy. When you watch the video notice how far they are racing from the hub rail first time around. It was like quick sand down there and when Niatross shied from the right side whip he bore in a little, he wanted out of that stuff and jumped the rail. does anybody know of another time in racing where they decided to delay the race for nearly 2 hours while they resurfaced the track for such a big race??? I thought it very strange that day and still do.
He was the best of them all.
Niatross was a good horse but didn't have stellar breeding. The reason he lost was his breeding.
was wondering about those times.....thanks
@jamsid33 I find your post insulting to one of the few class acts of harness racing. Clint Galbraith has forgotten more then 30 great drivers will ever know. For you information Clint was the first man to go sub 1:50 in a time trial and the first man to go sub 1:50 in a race with Call for Rain! He knew his horses and he made his horses! Clint Galbraith not only great trainer/driver but a great man in all aspects of life! This man always took the time to talk with young drivers.
Jordon Matthews I had the pleasure of working for Clint at Ben White in early 1990. None of the grooms wanted to go to Jersey with 3 racers, so I said HELL YES!! Clints operation was i decline at that stage, and I could tell that winning was no longer important. I parted company on good terms with Clint, and the next 3 years I spent with Ray Flis were some of the best in my 40+ years in racing...I owe a debt of gratitude to Clint..
A great argument for taking out the hub rail and installing "cones" instead. Which they eventually did.
Clint Galbraith wasn't Dave Palone as a pure driver, but he wasn't a slouch; check out the number of wins he accumulated in his career. He was a good horseman.
If you listen closely you can hear the air of everybody watching gasping don't worry he went on to win many more!!!
@howardm74 O'Donnell drove the fastest time trial in history!
what year was this?
My heart always stops when I see Niatross flip over the rail. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt. I still wonder what caused him to fall?
I read the comments about weather and track repair. Knew something was terribly wrong with those pedestrian fractions.
Clint Galbraith is a Great Man on and off the track. He never looked down on anyone even though he could have. He treated the common person just like if they were king or queen. I am thankful for the honor of talking to this man to have his ear was an honor!
Niatross Best Harness Horse Ever
I guess you don't know about Somebeachsomewhere? He only lost once in his life and it was 2nd by a nose in a world record of 1:47 he had a horrible trip 2nd in a million dollar race. Then the horse blistered a world record of 1:46.4 Won all his races but one and finshed 2nd by nose in his sole defeat.
DAN PATCH. best ever. no horse comes close.
I was standing at the finish line that day. It was incredible to hear thousands of people all draw in their breath at the same time. And as I remember, Saratoga Raceway did not allow win betting on this race!!
Correct there was no win betting
THAT
is a joke
@@pugskins as are YOU
it was a shame to see the great horse go over the rail but he was beat just one of though days but he still is one of the greatest to were hopples NIATROSS I HAVE TO SAYMY ORDER OF WATCHING HORSES CAM FELLA NIATROSS FORREST SKIPPER ASK FOR TROUBLE GALLO BLUE CHIP SEVENBWILLY KEYSTONE KELLY SOMEBEACHSOME WHERE
@jamsid33 Your right! Do you know who was slated to drive Cambest that day? Walter Case Jr. Cambest time trial should have an * next to it. Should say horse did this mile with a pound of baking soda in his system. There are no drug tests in time trials. Hanover farms dropped cambest as a stud because of his postive test.
I heard it was the first time he was ever hit with a whip
harness horses do not get hit with whips
PEOPLE DOWN GRADE CLINT OUT OF JEALOUSNESS THE MAN HAD TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS NIATROSS AND CALL FOR RAIN CINT DAD WAS ALSO WELL KNOWN IN CANADA IN THE 50.S GRANT GALBRAITH FROM STAYNER ONTARIO
@howardm74 you are right about Cambest and you are right about Walter Case Jr.
I never bet Norfield Park but when Walter drove there I bet the races because he is the only driver I ever saw that I enjoyed watching drive a horse.
THIS VIDEO IS ABOUT CLINT GALBRAITH AND NIATROSSS HOW DID YOU GET TALKING ABOUT MILKSHAES AND CAMBEST AND WALTER CASE
@howardm74 milk shake !! gatorade and baking soda fact: baking soda helped to keep O2 levels higher carried in blood .
@jamsid33 Clint Galbraith was never a catch driver but he has 3,062 driving wins and $20 million in purses as a driver! That is direct from US trotting records. A statue could never win that many races. Niatross won 37 of 39 lifetime starts. Clint Galbraith was the first driver to go sub 1:50. He drove the first 3 sub 1:50 miles. Niatross 1:49.1 and Call for Rain twice in 1:49.3.
Jordon Matthews Just so you know...Clint drove Tarport Hap for Del Miller on a couple of occasions, and Kash Minbar in the aged SS at Syracuse for Jimmy Cruise..the old-school drivers used to catch drive for each other when the GC was actually relevant...
thank god no more hub rails!
I don't know about '1 every 500 years'. I would have loved to see a race between him, Bret Hanover and Cam Fella.
@howardm74 i am not disputing anything that you say about Clint as a man and trainer, I am sure Steve Smith is a great guy but nobody would put him up in a big race with Brenna, Sears, Tetrick ect available. All I am saying is that if O'Donnell or Campbell were aboard Niatross the horse would have gone faster, not win more races, just gone faster. You cant dispute that.
Was there on rail watching race that day with my camera when accident happened directly in front of me was sorry to rip tickets up But happy harness racing royalty was not Seriously hurt
Something had to be wrong with him that day. I've been watching and wagering on harness racing for 30+ years and I've only seen that one other time...perhaps it was broken equipment?? As bad as his driver was with those incredibly slow fractions he should have won by opens...like I said either he was hurt , sick or had equiptment problems. Greatest pacer of the modern era with his son Nihilator the only threat. Jmo
Yeah something was wrong with Niatross that day there is no way he should have lost. He did have problems with the footing of Saratoga at that time it was clay track. He jumped the rail because he had never gotten whipped like he did that day. I know because I talked to Clint Galbraith many times. Clint is the nicest kindest person. He will sit down and talk to anyone. He talked to me as a teen. I was honored to be in a qualifier with Clint Galbraith at Vernon Downs in 1990 when i was 16 years old and only had my Qualifier license. That changed I had my P license before I graduated high school. Nice man Clint was and I was there this day of the race with my dad I was 6 years old.
matthew mauran I think your right. Niatross gave up th lead. Clint was not afraid to use the whip which scared the horse causing him to jump the rail. I'worked for Clint awesome man. He had good clock in his head and good with the whip and he wasn't scared of any horse. I remember a horse Kashmir Quiz every groom had him unpredictable horse with lots of drama. I got my shot with him he ended striking me and Clint said enough and ended gelding him.
and this is why they do not use rails in standardbred racing anymore.
@howardm74-that's not true. I was at Springfield that day and recall seeing the vet pulling Cambest's blood.
@howardm74- Imagine how many wins Case could have if he hadn't spent fully half his driving career suspended because he lacked the willpower to keep his nose out of the coke bowl.
But the corollary to that is imagine how many wins he wouldn't have if he wouldn't have imbibed.
NO ONE EVER MENTIONS THAT IF NIATROSS HAD BEEN DRIVEN BY A "REAL DRIVER" [CLINT G. WAS POOR AT BEST], WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH GREATER HE WOULD HAVE BEEN.
MIKE
[Yonkers, N.Y
That's all I ever hear.
@jamsid33 Oh yes Walter is the best driver to watch! Anywhere he drove I made sure to watch! He is magical. Walter is gonna drive again next year.
Very dramatic race , hard to figure.
@jamsid33 Well horses back then were much different then they are today. Niatross would make breaks. As far as O'Donnell and Campbell there big money drivers but not speed drivers. Now if we Say Walter Case JR or The Minister of Speed George Brennan than yes faster! Those 2 guys Brennan and Case could get more out of any horse I have ever seen!
Check out the 1979 woodrow wilson, Niatross should have lost this one too --to Denali who lugged in badly in the stretch,recovered and narrowly missed beating niatross.Denali was butchered by DR.
That "margin of safety" aka the curbed rail was more dangerous than the original...harold story went over it a few times and absolutely hated it.
well thats 1 way to beat him
imagine if Niatross had a real driver, instead of a statue?
he would have time trialed in 47 and that was 20 years ago
Driver stiffed him as he and the horse went out for drinks after the race.
1:01.2 for a half, 1:30 and change for 3/4ths and he couldn't hold off a horse that was parked the ENTIRE race? pretty weak...
I was there that day. Conditions were crazy. Mud was like 2 feet deep. Galbraith threatened to scratch his horse, not wanting to take chances on an injury. They delayed the race for more than 45 minutes while they had all kinds of trucks out there, scraping the mud off. It was supposed to be a cakewalk for Niatross, because he had the rail and really no one in the race that had ever been able to compete with him. Anyhow, the track was still crap when the race went off. The rail was totally dead. They didn't scrape the inside lane well enough. It was about 5 seconds slower than the second lane. Niatross was a VERY tired horse by the time he reached headstretch. He was like carrying 1,000 pounds on his back the whole way. The whole thing was very dumb, the way it turned out, and meaningless from a sporting point of view. Galbraith SHOULD have scratched his horse. Because look what happened! Not the loss of the race, which meant nothing at all, but the near disastrous accident.
your comment is weak
@@TR-vr5pznot as weak as your mom