Albatross was a bay Standardbred horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 by Meadow Skipper

Meadow Skipper

Meadow Skipper was a Standardbred racehorse foaled in 1960 by Dale Frost out of Countess Vivian by Kings Council. He earned $ 428,057 as a racehorse....

. He was voted Harness Horse of the Year

Harness Horse of the Year

The Harness Horse of the Year is an honor recognizing the top harness racing horse in the United States. The award is selected by the United States Trotting Association and the United States Harness Writers Association....

 in 1971 and 1972. Albatross won 59 of 71 starts, including the Cane Pace and Messenger Stakes in 1971, earned $1,201,477. It was, however, as a sire that he really made his mark. Albatross's 2,546 sons and daughters won $130,700,280.

Racing career

Trained and driven by Harry Harvey from the time he was a yearling until a week before his three-year-old season and later Stanley Dancer

Stanley Dancer

Stanley Franklin Dancer was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was the only horsemen to drive and train three Triple Crowns in horse racing. In total, he drove 23 Triple Crown winners. He was the first trainer to campaign a horse to $1 million in a career, Cardigan Bay in 1968 and...

, he won 25 of his 28 races as a three-year-old, including the Adios Stakes, the Cane Pace

Cane Pace

The Cane Pace is a harness horse race run annually since 1955. In 1956 the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the Messenger Stakes to become the first leg in the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers....

, and the Messenger Stakes

Messenger Stakes

The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers...

. As a three-year-old he also set a record for fastest race mile with two races in 1:54.4 at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. He broke this record as a four-year-old with a race in 1:54.3 at Sportsman's Park

Sportsman's Park

Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.

Albatross set the single-season harness horse earnings record of $558,009 in 1971.

Stud record

After his four-year-old racing season he retired to stud at Hanover Shoe Farms

Hanover Shoe Farms

Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. is a North American Standardbred horse breeding facilities. Its traces back to the early 1900s and continues into the present day....

 in Hanover, Pennsylvania

Hanover, Pennsylvania

Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...

. One of his sons Niatross

Niatross

Niatross was an American champion standardbred race horse who many believe was the greatest harness horse of all time.The son of Albatross out of the mare Niagara Dream, Niatross was born on March 30, 1977...

 was the winner of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers

Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers

The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers consists of the following horse races:#Cane Pace, held at Freehold Raceway in Freehold, New Jersey#Little Brown Jug, held at the Delaware County Fair in Delaware, Ohio...

 in 1980

1980 in sports

1980 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein** Women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein...

 and in that year was also a world champion with a mark of 1:49.1). Others were Fan Hanover, Merger, Colt Fortysix, and Jaguar Spur, all, like Niatross, winners of the Little Brown Jug

Little Brown Jug (horse racing)

The Little Brown Jug is a harness race for three-year-old pacing standardbreds hosted by the Delaware County Agricultural Society since 1946 at the County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio. The race takes place every year on the third Thursday after Labor Day. Along with the Hambletonian, a race for...

. He was also an outstanding broodmare sire.

In 1998, Albatross died at the age of 30 at Hanover Shoe Farm in Pennsylvania of complications from heart failure and colic. He was buried at the Hanover Shoe Farms horse cemetery.