SARATOGA SPRINGS — Man O’ War, voted the greatest horse of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated and The Blood Horse, is still considered to be the fastest horse ever. Author Ann Reilly was surprised that there was very little literature written about him so she decided to write a fiction book with historical accuracy. Her book, Man O’ War and Will Harbut: The Greatest Story in Horse Racing History, is a fictional account told through the voice of Will Harbut. Taking place at Glen Riddle Farms, owned by Sam Riddle, Man O’ War lived out his days there after being retired to stud two years after his racing career began. Visitors would come to tour the stables and Harbut would take them around to all of the other popular horses, such as U.S. Triple Crown winner War Admiral and Crusader, hyping the visitors up for the main attraction, Man O’ War. It is estimated that one to three million visitors came to the farm over the years Man O’ War spent his retirement there. Harbut was extremely dedicated to being a groom, especially to his favorite, Man O’ War.
What started as a joke in Kentucky, that Harbut and Man O’ War could not live without each other, proved accurate when Harbut had a stroke and could no longer care for him. He would still visit the horse until he passed away Oct. 3, 1948.
“There was a moving story told by Man O’ War’s new groom. Man O’ War kept staring down the drive way and refused to go in the stall. The new groom couldn’t get him inside; he was just staring down the driveway. So some think he was looking for Will, some think he saw Will’s spirit, but it took him like 15 minutes to get him to walk backwards in to the stall. And then he laid down and passed away two days later on November 1,” Reilly retold.
Sam Riddle held a state funeral in honor of the horse. Riddle had a casket built big enough for Man O’ War and mourners came to bid farewell. The funeral was radio broadcasted by NBC Radio.
From a very young age, Reilly has been knowledgeable about Man O’ War. Her grandfather would take her to his memorial, set up where he trained in Maryland, and would educate her on the horse and his racing career. Reilly’s grandfather’s neighbor was friends with the Riddle’s and would also regale Reilly with stories about Man O’ War, sparking her interest very early on.
“When I realized there had been nothing done on Man O’ War, I wrote a movie script first and I didn’t get anywhere with it by banging on doors. So then I went backwards and wrote the book,” Reilly said.
Reilly has a PhD in sports psychology and has written for several equestrian magazines, such as Sidelines Magazine, where she wrote the sports psychology column for 12 years. She has also written for a number of other horse magazines, along with writing a book on sports psychology called A Sport Psychology Workbook for Riders. Reilly mainly works with riders and has worked with horses in the beginning stages of their career and horses all the way up to Olympic level. She is also an avid rider of thoroughbreds.
“A lot of people, probably 60 - 70 years old, don’t have a clue about Man O’ War. So that was another reason I wanted to write this book,” Reilly said.
Man O’ War produced a lot of successful offspring including Triple Crown winner War Admiral whom was sired with Brushup.
This year is Man O’ War’s 100th birthday celebration. In honor of that, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame hosted a birthday party for Man O’ War on March 29 of this year. Man O’ War made his first appearance in Saratoga Springs in 1919, appearing first in the United States Hotel Stakes on Aug. 2. Man O’ War won easily, beating a colt named Upset by two lengths, even though he had 130 pounds on his back. Also on March 29 of this year, the Kentucky horse park where he is buried hosted a big celebration in his honor. Many people came out to celebrate this legendary horse.
Man O’ War is also featured in the Man O’ War Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to support the first university-led research trial aimed specifically at veterans diagnosed with PTSD to determine the effectiveness of Equine-Assisted Therapy for treating PTSD (EAT-PTSD) and to establish manualized guidelines for the application of EAT-PTSD,” according to their website.
On Aug. 26, Travers Day, Reilly will be hosting a book signing in the Saratoga Pavilion at the Saratoga racetrack.
“This book is more about the human and horse bond,” Reilly concluded.
Her book is on sale now at the Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame gift shop and will be available to purchase at her signing on Aug. 26. It is also available on amazon.
