Quote from
Lonnie on October 3, 2026, 1:19 PM
I just found this story on Niatross that appeared in the New York Daily News half a lifetime ago. I thought I had read everything ever written about Niatross. This gold nugget apparently never found my radar (despite me LIVING in New York!).
I wanted to share it here:
EVERY ONCE IN A GREAT while the creators get it right. Every once in a great while they smile upon us and offer a gift of speed, strength, invincibility, charisma, all neatly wrapped in one package. The perfect athlete.
In basketball, it was Jordan. In hockey, Gretzky. In thoroughbred racing, it was, of course, Secretariat. Then there was Niatross.
“God is the creator of life, beauty and perfection, and He put it all into Niatross,” co-owner Elsie Berger said back in 1980.
Indeed He did.
Niatross, maybe the best who ever lived, was humanely destroyed Monday night at the New Bolton veterinary center in Pennsylvania. Upon arriving at New Bolton from his home in Cream Ridge, N.J., an examination revealed a large abdominal mass, which was cancerous. He was put down two days later at the age of 22.
Perhaps one will come along who is better, but there never will be another Niatross. Harness racing said goodbye not just to a legend, but to the last vestige of a simpler era. He was a feel-good story in an era when a harness racing could still make headlines for all the right reasons. He was a superstar in an era when harness racing still mattered a little, and a great horse could put bodies in seats that have not been sat in since.
They knew he was something special early on, and they were right. With trainer Clint Galbraith doubling as the driver, he sailed through a perfect season as a 2-year-old in 1979, going 13-for-13. That made him Harness Horse of the Year and the brightest star the sport had seen since Bret Hanover in the ’60s. It would only get better. His 3-year-old year was a magical campaign, when even a loss was high theater.
He was 24-for-26 as a 3-year-old, and his first loss proved to be among the most memorable events of his career. It was July 5, 1980, at Saratoga Raceway, the other track in Saratoga, but the place to be on this day in upstate New York. Niatross was 19-for-19, and 20-for-20 seemed such a certainty that he had been barred from the wagering.
On a rainy day, Niatross sauntered on the lead through slow fractions, but something was wrong. Sensing that his horse was in trouble, Galbraith tapped him with the whip, the first time Niatross had ever been hit. Inexplicably, he vaulted over the rail, crashing head-first into the infield in what could have been a terrible tragedy. Instead, Niatross righted himself and stood calmly, unscathed.
Still, he was worse for the wear. Niatross lost again, this time six days later in the Meadowlands Pace eliminations. He broke stride while racing for the lead, regained his gait and was parked into impossibly fast fractions, but exhausted in the stretch, he somehow managed to fight for his life and hang on. He snagged the fourth and last qualifying spot.
In a tough town that barely knows harness racing exists, Niatross was hot news. There was drama, intrigue (just why did he go over the rail?) and even a good old down-and-dirty fight among bickering owners, perfect stuff for the New York tabloids, which splashed his name and face all over the back pages.
Before a crowd of 42,612 at the Big M, Niatross destroyed them that night. He would never lose again.
But one important question had been left unanswered: How fast could he go? With nothing but effortless wins on the track, he was never asked to give his all. Everyone was curious, Galbraith included.
An Oct. 1 time trial was set up at the Red Mile in Lexington. It was horse-versus-clock, and the clock never had a chance. Aiming to break the existing mark of 1:52, Niatross all but took flight. The final time was an astonishing 1:49 1/5.
“He lowered the time trial record by nearly three seconds,” said Dean Hoffman, the executive editor of Hoofbeats Magazine. “Horses just don’t do that. A horse might have lowered it by a fifth, maybe two-fifths, but not that. People were just in awe of him.”
Niatross enjoyed a revival, starting three years ago. Someone did something smart and paraded him around at tracks across the country before admiring fans. He even did a little stroll down Broadway in 1997, there to help launch a series of harness races.
‘SURE, THERE WAS LOTS of sadness when he died,” Hoffman said. “But you know what my feeling was? I felt blessed to have seen him. I was unbelievably lucky to have seen that son of a gun race.”
Weren’t we all.
(Picture (not mine) of Niatross on Broadway. It wasn't part of the article)
I just found this story on Niatross that appeared in the New York Daily News half a lifetime ago. I thought I had read everything ever written about Niatross. This gold nugget apparently never found my radar (despite me LIVING in New York!).
I wanted to share it here:
EVERY ONCE IN A GREAT while the creators get it right. Every once in a great while they smile upon us and offer a gift of speed, strength, invincibility, charisma, all neatly wrapped in one package. The perfect athlete.
In basketball, it was Jordan. In hockey, Gretzky. In thoroughbred racing, it was, of course, Secretariat. Then there was Niatross.
“God is the creator of life, beauty and perfection, and He put it all into Niatross,” co-owner Elsie Berger said back in 1980.
Indeed He did.
Niatross, maybe the best who ever lived, was humanely destroyed Monday night at the New Bolton veterinary center in Pennsylvania. Upon arriving at New Bolton from his home in Cream Ridge, N.J., an examination revealed a large abdominal mass, which was cancerous. He was put down two days later at the age of 22.
Perhaps one will come along who is better, but there never will be another Niatross. Harness racing said goodbye not just to a legend, but to the last vestige of a simpler era. He was a feel-good story in an era when a harness racing could still make headlines for all the right reasons. He was a superstar in an era when harness racing still mattered a little, and a great horse could put bodies in seats that have not been sat in since.
They knew he was something special early on, and they were right. With trainer Clint Galbraith doubling as the driver, he sailed through a perfect season as a 2-year-old in 1979, going 13-for-13. That made him Harness Horse of the Year and the brightest star the sport had seen since Bret Hanover in the ’60s. It would only get better. His 3-year-old year was a magical campaign, when even a loss was high theater.
He was 24-for-26 as a 3-year-old, and his first loss proved to be among the most memorable events of his career. It was July 5, 1980, at Saratoga Raceway, the other track in Saratoga, but the place to be on this day in upstate New York. Niatross was 19-for-19, and 20-for-20 seemed such a certainty that he had been barred from the wagering.
On a rainy day, Niatross sauntered on the lead through slow fractions, but something was wrong. Sensing that his horse was in trouble, Galbraith tapped him with the whip, the first time Niatross had ever been hit. Inexplicably, he vaulted over the rail, crashing head-first into the infield in what could have been a terrible tragedy. Instead, Niatross righted himself and stood calmly, unscathed.
Still, he was worse for the wear. Niatross lost again, this time six days later in the Meadowlands Pace eliminations. He broke stride while racing for the lead, regained his gait and was parked into impossibly fast fractions, but exhausted in the stretch, he somehow managed to fight for his life and hang on. He snagged the fourth and last qualifying spot.
In a tough town that barely knows harness racing exists, Niatross was hot news. There was drama, intrigue (just why did he go over the rail?) and even a good old down-and-dirty fight among bickering owners, perfect stuff for the New York tabloids, which splashed his name and face all over the back pages.
Before a crowd of 42,612 at the Big M, Niatross destroyed them that night. He would never lose again.
But one important question had been left unanswered: How fast could he go? With nothing but effortless wins on the track, he was never asked to give his all. Everyone was curious, Galbraith included.
An Oct. 1 time trial was set up at the Red Mile in Lexington. It was horse-versus-clock, and the clock never had a chance. Aiming to break the existing mark of 1:52, Niatross all but took flight. The final time was an astonishing 1:49 1/5.
“He lowered the time trial record by nearly three seconds,” said Dean Hoffman, the executive editor of Hoofbeats Magazine. “Horses just don’t do that. A horse might have lowered it by a fifth, maybe two-fifths, but not that. People were just in awe of him.”
Niatross enjoyed a revival, starting three years ago. Someone did something smart and paraded him around at tracks across the country before admiring fans. He even did a little stroll down Broadway in 1997, there to help launch a series of harness races.
‘SURE, THERE WAS LOTS of sadness when he died,” Hoffman said. “But you know what my feeling was? I felt blessed to have seen him. I was unbelievably lucky to have seen that son of a gun race.”
Weren’t we all.
(Picture (not mine) of Niatross on Broadway. It wasn't part of the article)
