Joseph Cyril “Joe” O’Brien was perhaps the greatest driver and trainer of harness horses the world has ever seen.
Joe O’Brien won the U.S. Trotting Triple Crown in 1955. He would be inducted into both the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, as well as Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Joe grew up in the family of a successful Prince Edward Island farmer. When he was 16, he won his first harness race at a Summerside track. In 1935 after finishing school, he started to work as a trainer at a farm in Nova Scotia. Within a few years, Joe O’Brien had become a dominant force in racing in the Maritime Provinces.