The Three-Year-Old

Man o' War's three-year-old season began late when his owner, Sam Riddle, kept him out of the Kentucky Derby because he believed the 1¼-mile race came too early in the season and his colt was not ready for the strain. Instead, Man o' War made his first start eight days later in the Preakness on May 18, with Clarence Kummer riding because Loftus was under suspension, and Kummer rode him in all but two of his races that season. Man o' War quickly became racing's leading three-year-old, winning the Preakness easily over Upset and then setting a new American mile record of 1:35 4/5 in the Withers. Beginning with the Belmont Stakes, the competition thinned as owners apparently did not want to match their horses against him; only one other starter faced him there, yet he won by 20 lengths and set a new American record of 2:14 1/5 for 1 3/8 miles, a mark that stood for fifty years. He next won the Stuyvesant Handicap by eight lengths, then took the Dwyer Stakes against a lone rival, John P. Grier, in probably his most demanding race, as John P. Grier stayed close through most of the 1 1/8-mile course and briefly moved ahead by a head at the furlong pole before Kummer used his whip, the only time it was ever used on Man o' War, and Man o' War surged ahead to win by a length and a half in a new American record of 1:49 1/5. He then added three more victories in the Miller Stakes, the Travers, and the Lawrence Realization, which he won by an estimated 100 lengths while setting an American record of 2:40 4/5 for 1 5/8 miles. In the Jockey Club Gold Cup he set another American record, 2:28 4/5 for 1½ miles, and in the Potomac Handicap he set a Havre de Grace track record of 1:44 4/5 for 1 1/16 miles. The finale of his career came in the $80,000 Kenilworth Gold Cup match race against the great four-year-old Sir Barton on October 12, 1920; filmed by 14 cameras and later shown in movie theatres around the world, Man o' War led throughout, finished seven lengths ahead, ran the 1¼-mile course in 2:05, cut 6 2/5 seconds off the track record, and established his absolute supremacy in Thoroughbred racing. In his owner's view, he had done enough, and because of the increased weight he would have to carry as a four-year-old, he was retired to rest and begin a new career at stud.

Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky · United States