Man O' War

Arguably the greatest racing horse in American history; Man O' War was born in 1917, son of Fair Play and Mahubah. He was sold as a yearling at Saratoga for the ironically cheap price tag of $5,000, to Samuel Riddle. His jockey was Johnny Loftus; he only lost one race in his entire career, and that, most agree, was due to bad luck. His most celebrated victory was against the Canadian horse, Sir Barton, who happened to be the first winner of the Triple Crown.

Man o'War (also, sometimes written as "Man o' War" or "Man O'War") won 20 of his 21 races in a racing career that lasted from 1919-1920. Interestingly, his one loss was an upset by a horse named "Upset".

Man o'War, nicknamed "Big Red", did not race in the 1920 Kentucky Derby (his handlers believed the early May race was too early for 3-year olds to run in), but won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes later that year. He also won his final race, a special match race against 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton.

Man o'War died on November 1, 1947, at the age of 30, but he was far from forgotten.

In 1999, Man o'War was voted "Horse of the Century" by an Associated Press-created panel of six experts. Secretariat, who many argue was an even greater racehorse than Man o'War, finished 2nd.

Also in 1999, ESPN's SportsCentury put Man o'War at #84 in their list of the 100 greatest North American athletes of the 20th century (Secretariat was placed considerably higher, at #35).