... Part One of a Two-Part Series ...
Photos provided.
THE BEGINNINGS
Last year we celebrated the one hundredth birthday of the legendary race horse Man o’ War. I thought it might be a good time to look at his magnificent racing career. On a rare occasion, a champion is given a name that is as noble as his future accomplishments.
This was one of those times. A Man o’ War was a ship of the line, the most powerful vessel afloat when the British Navy ruled the seas one hundred years before he was born. He would cover that name in glory in a racing career that has stood the test of time. It is here at Saratoga where our story begins. In fact, no more than a few yards from the home office of this publication, Saratoga Today.
In the year 1918 August Belmont Jr decided to sell off his racing stock. Man O’ War made his first public appearance at the annual Fasig Tipton yearling sale. When this beautiful chestnut colt made his way into the old outdoor pavilion, he caught the eye of horseman Samuel Riddle. For the then princely sum of five thousand dollars, he had just struck gold, or more like it the mother lode. Man o‘ War had made his first visit to Saratoga. It would not be his last.
Then came 1919. World War One had just ended. Former president Theodore Roosevelt passed away at the age of sixty. The sporting world was to witness baseball’s worst nightmare, when the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series in what became known as the Black Sox scandal. These events were enough to make it a year to remember. Man O’ War would make it a one never to forget.
That spring he launched his racing career at Belmont Park. He took his first two starts with ease. Then he toyed with competition at both Aqueduct and old Jamaica before coming to Saratoga. His owner Sam Riddle was no stranger here. In fact, he was the owner of one of the beautiful homes that line Union Avenue, just walking distance to the track. Man o’ War made his debut at the Spa on opening day. He easily took the United States Hotel Stakes. Next up would be the Sanford eleven days later. Man o’ War was the odds-on favorite, as he was in every one of his career starts. Unfortunately, events preceding the race dictated the only loss of his storied career.
These were the days prior to the advent of the starting gate. For at least five minutes the race was delayed. The starter, a seldom used second choice, could not line the horses up. There were no less than three false starts leading to the race. Man o’ War and his Jockey Johnny Loftus found themselves in peril. It is said that he was actually backing up and at least two lengths in the rear when the race finally began. He broke fourth, a spot that he was not accustomed to. Then he was blocked during the race, and forced to go to the outside to get past the field. He closed within a neck of long shot Upset. Just a few more yards and he would have prevailed. It was not to be.
The racing Gods had decided against him. Upset was the winner. In a quirk of fate normally reserved for fables, no better word in the dictionary can compare with the name given to the slayer of Man o‘ War. It was the upset of the century. The chestnut colt nicknamed “Big Red” easily took his next two starts here at the Spa. Then it was on to Belmont where he took what was then the most important juvenile race in the country, the Belmont Futurity. His stellar two-year-old season had come to an end.
Man o’ War had made 1919 a year not to forget. He would make 1920 one for the ages.
Man o’ War with lifelong groom and caretaker Will Harbet.
