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Lexington in Fayette County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
 

Man o' War

Fair Play - Mahubah, by Rock Sand

 
 
Man o' War Marker <i>(obverse) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, July 1985
1. Man o' War Marker (obverse)
Inscription. Greatest race horse and leading money winner of his day. Winner of twenty of twenty-one starts with lifetime earnings of $249,465. Foaled March 29, 1917, at August Belmont's Nursery Stud a few miles away. Sold at auction as yearling for $5,000 to Samuel D. Riddle, his owner throughout his racing career and later retirement. "Big Red" sired 62 stakes winners, his get earning over $3.5 million. War Admiral, Triple Crown winner, was most famous of his offspring. Man o' War died November 1, 1947; lies buried beneath this statue by noted sculptor Herbert Haseltine.

(Reverse):
Races Won By Man o' War
2 year old, 1919
Futurity • Tremont • Grand Union Hotel • U.S. Hotel • Hopeful • Youthful • Hudson • Purse Race, at Belmont • Keene Memorial
Won all entered as a 2 year old, except second in Sanford Memorial.

3 year old, 1920
Belmont • Potomac • Dwyer • Preakness • Jockey Club • Stuyvesant • Kenilworth Gold Cup • Travers • Lawrence Realization • Withers • Miller
Won all entered as a 3 year old, eight in record time.
 
Erected 1968 by The Thoroughbred Club of America, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways. (Marker Number 1215.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
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AnimalsSports. In addition, it is included in the Kentucky Historical Society series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 29, 1898.
 
Location. 38° 8.959′ N, 84° 31.209′ W. Marker is in Lexington, Kentucky, in Fayette County. Marker is on Iron Works Pike. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4089 Iron Works Pike, Lexington KY 40511, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Isaac Burns Murphy (within shouting distance of this marker); Man o' War/Isaac Burns Murphy Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Descendants in Man o' War's Memorial Gravesite (within shouting distance of this marker); African Americans in Racing (within shouting distance of this marker); The Mostest Hoss (within shouting distance of this marker); Getting Ready (within shouting distance of this marker); Will Harbut and Man o' War (within shouting distance of this marker); Secretariat (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lexington.
 
More about this marker. Man O'War passed away at the age of 30 as the result of a failing heart. His lifetime companion and groom, Will Harbut, had died only a month
Man o' War Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud
2. Man o' War Marker
earlier. He was embalmed and lay in state for several days in a specially made casket lined with his racing colors, the first horse ever buried this way. Twenty-nine years after his death, Man o' War was reinterred in 1976 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia entry for Man o' War. (Submitted on January 15, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. Wikipedia entry for Samuel D. Riddle, Man o' War's owner. (Submitted on January 15, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.)
3. Wikipedia entry for August Belmont, Man o' War's orginal breeder. (Submitted on January 15, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
4. Wikipedia entry for Kentucky Horse Park. Location of the Man o' War Monument. (Submitted on January 15, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Interesting facts on Man o' War
– Man o' War was bred by the son of the Belmont Park founder, whom the Belmont Stakes was named after.
– Man o' War did not win the Triple Crown.
– Man o' War set American records in races at 5 different distances.
– Big Red lost only one race to horse, ironically named Upset.
– Man o' War won by 100 lengths in one of those record-setting races.
– Big Red still won when
Man o' War Monument image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, July 1985
3. Man o' War Monument
saddled with an excessively high weight of 138 pounds.
– An Associated Press poll in the 1950s voted Man o' War the greatest thoroughbred of the first half of the 20th century.
– Man o' War beat the first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, in Man o' War's last race.
– Man o' War ironically never raced in Kentucky but spent the majority of his life in the state.
– Samuel Riddle, Big Red's owner, was offered a blank check for ownership of the horse, and Riddle turned it down.
    — Submitted January 15, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.
 
Kentucky Horse Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud
4. Kentucky Horse Park
The Heart Of Race Horse Country image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud
5. The Heart Of Race Horse Country
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,130 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 15, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024