08/08/2007

Man O’War: the legend of racing
By Don Klein

It was a warm day on August 13, 1919 as a clutch of thoroughbred horses gathered at the start line for the Sanford Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Springs, NY. No one knew at the time but history was about to be made.

There was no starting gate 88 years ago so the horses lined up behind webbing strung across the start line. The horse affectionately known a "Big Red" was restless and had just gotten out of line when a substitute starter, in his 70s with poor vision who could not see down the full line of horses, sprang the webbing to launch the thoroughbreds into action.   

At the moment the fidgety Big Red, who had won seven races in a row since June, was turned away from the track as his jockey maneuvered him back into line. The other horses broke well ahead of him and Big Red, way behind the others, eventually overtook the pack except for the lead horse. Coming on strong, Big Red lost by a whisker.

The crowning fact of the race was that for Big Red, properly known as Man O'War, the Saratoga Springs loss was the only one he ever suffered in his illustrious competitive career.  It was the only blemish in the singular life of the horse that is considered the greatest purebred of all time. Ironically, the horse that beat him was named Upset.

Man O'War, who spent much of his post racing life on Glen Riddle Farms in Berlin, was born in Kentucky on March 29, 1917. His original owner was Major August Belmont III, a breeder whose wife Eleanor usually named their horses. With Major Belmont in Europe buying mules for the Army, she named the stallion in honor of him, "My Man O'War."  When she sent the name in to be registered in New York, the first word was dropped and the name Man O'War stuck.

Being fully involved in World War I and not able to return in time for the racing season, Mr. Belmont decided to sell his yearlings, including the young colt. Samuel Doyle Riddle, a textile manufacturer and former rider on the northeastern hunt circuit, paid a modest $5,000 for Man O'War. It was a bargain considering his cousin Mrs. Walter Jeffords paid $15,600 for another colt.

Mr. Riddle's decision to purchase the horse was influenced by his trainer Louis Feustel who liked the animal's genealogy. The trainer wanted Man O'War because he was sired by Fair Play and foaled by Mahubah, whom the horseman had trained years earlier. Besides Mr. Riddle felt he could always use Man O'War as a hunter if he was not a successful racehorse.

It was also said that Sam Riddle liked the way the colt's coat shone "like gold in the afternoon sunlight," although this poetic legend seems at odds with claims that Man O'War was not prepared for the sale as carefully as his stablemates. Mr. Belmont first considered holding Man O'War back from the sale but had decided that keeping the best colt for himself might make a bad impression on potential buyers.

Man O'War proved to be a very difficult horse to break, fighting every step and repeatedly dumping his jockey. As Sam Riddle recalled, "He fought like a tiger. He screamed with rage and fought us so hard that it took several days before he could be handled with safety."

While this description was possibly an exaggeration, it was well known that Man O'War threw his riders in the early days. He reputedly threw one jockey, mounting him for the first time, about 40 feet. But according to his owner, it "was the last bad move Man O' War ever made" for once he began galloping with the stable pony, Major Trent, and the other yearlings, Man O'War quickly became the most highly regarded horse in the barn.

On June 6, 1919, Man O'War began his distinguished racing career winning seven races in a row at tracks like Belmont Park, Jamaica and Aqueduct. He not only won but took the races without much effort. Then the August debacle in Saratoga which not only was blamed on the substitute starter but on Man O'War's jockey, Johnny Loftus, who unfortunately allowed the living legend to be boxed in along the rail until it was too late to overtake Upset. Man O'War lost by less than a half length while carrying 15 pounds more than the winner. 

Willie Knapp, who rode Upset, described the race, "We'd passed the quarter pole and were going to the eighth pole, I guess it was, and I heard something right behind me and I knew it was 'Big Red' coming at me now. I looked back and there he was. Johnny Loftus was riding like a crazy man and he yelled at me, 'Move out, Willie! I'm coming through!' So I yelled back at him, 'Take off! Take off me, bum, or I'll put you through the rail!' Then I set down to riding and we won."

When his career ended in 1920 Man O'War had accumulated a lifetime record of 20 wins in 21 starts. He had earned $249,465, a record at the time. He fit smoothly into the golden age of sports which featured human greats like Jack Dempsey, Red Grange, Bobby Jones, Babe Ruth and Bill Tilden, Man O'War set five world records.

His owner Sam Riddle once rejected a phenomenal offer of $1 million for Man O' War. He also turned down a second offer of a blank check, given after he rebuffed the $1 million, an unbelievable sum in those years. "You go to France," he said, "and bring back the sepulchre of Napoleon from Les Invalides. Then you go to England and buy the jewels from the crown. Then to India and buy the Taj Mahal. Then I'll put a price on Man O' War."

Man O' War never ran in the Kentucky Derby because Sam Riddle did not care for the race, thinking it came too early to suit the soft bones of a 3-year-old. Many think he would have won the Derby, making him a Triple Crown winner, for he also won the Preakness and Belmont, the latter by 20 lengths.

Man O' War was feted in 1938 with a party for his 21st birthday that was broadcast on national radio by NBC from the stallion barn at Faraway Farm, KY. He received a cake of oats and carrots while 700 to 800 people looked on.

Man O' War produced many winners among his offspring in more than 20 years at stud. Of note was triple crown winner, War Admiral; Kentucky Derby winner, Clyde Van Dusen; Battleship, who won England's Grand National Steeplechase; and Belmont Stakes winners Crusader, American Flag, Mars, War Relic, War Glory, Scapa Flow and Florence Nightingale. His offspring won more than $3 million, a record at the time.

When he died November 1, 1947 at age 30, Man O' War lay in state for two days, the first racehorse and one of only two prepared for burial in this manner. As many as 2,000 admirers attended his funeral at Faraway Farm where the funeral service was broadcast nationally and included nine eulogies.