Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Trainer of the Month
for January 2007

Joe O'Brien

"Gentleman" Joe O'Brien got his start in the harness racing business when he was just 13-years-old in Alberton, Prince Edward Island. Born June 25, 1917 this Maritime native with the gold and white colors went on to become one of the greatest trainer-drivers in the history of the sport of harness racing---winning 4,284 races and $20,424,543.

Joe O'Brien

Joe's father Harry O'Brien, built many of the tracks that are still in operation today on Prince Edward Island. At age 18, Joe left his father's farm to begin his career as a harness horse trainer and spent 11 years in his native Canada before venturing to the United States.

Through the years his reputation for class and diplomacy earned him the title of "Gentleman Joe" and later saw him enter both the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Quiet and unassuming, Joe O'Brien's career highlights include winning the Hambletonian twice, the Little Brown Jug twice, the Roosevelt International Trot twice and steering Steady Start to a world record 1:52 mile in a time trial.

In his career he handled such standouts as Fresh Yankee, Armbro Nesbit, Flower Child, Melvin's Woe, Nero, Armbro Jet, Steady Star, Shadow Wave, Blaze Hanover, Sunnie Tar, and Armbro Ranger, among others.

Over the years Joe trained for many prominent harness owners, but none was as strong as that which he formed with Elgin Armstrong of Brampton, Ontario in the fall of 1963 at the annual yearling sales, which both attended at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Joe thought he was at the sale as a representative of the Camp Racing Stable, but didn't know that the Camp operation had been sold while he was at the sale. He received a telegram informing him of that fact, and of the fact that he was now unemployed.

"When I went to Harrisburg, I was told to only buy one horse," O'Brien recalled. "I picked one out but before I could make a bid, the telegram came." The horse O'Brien chose to bid on was Bret Hanover. Between 1964 and 1966, Bret Hanover went on to earn $922,616.

At that same time, Elgin Armstrong was looking for a trainer, as his previous trainer--Del Miller, was cutting back on his operation. When Elgin heard about Joe's predicament, he quickly hooked up with the talented conditioner. Joe developed Armbro Flight into one of the outstanding trotters of all time as one of his early projects with Armstrong, and their partnership remained strong for many years.

O'Brien's base was Shafter, California through the years, but he routinely traveled to Chicago and the East Coast to race his string of top trotters and pacers.

Fresh Yankee was one of Joe's best horses and he steered her to the bulk of her lifetime earnings of $1,294,252, a total that placed her behind only France's Une de Mai as leading money-winning trotter of all time before Moni Maker came onto the scene. Joe and Fresh Yankee to win the Roosevelt International in 1970.

2006 Archives
December: Jimmy Takter
November: Erv Miller
October: Ray Remmen
September: Carl Allen
August: Mark Ford
July: Ron Gurfein
June: Jim Dennis
May: Delvin Miller
April: Chuck Sylvester
March: Billy Haughton
February: Bill Robinson