 |
War Admiral was born in 1834 at Faraway Farm in Lexington Kentucky from mare Brush Up and sire Man O' War. He looked very much like Man O' War, but slightly smaller and darker in color. He was owned y Samuel Riddle, racing out of Glen Riddle Farm in Berlin, Maryland. Mr. Riddle was very prejudice against racing anywhere but the East Coast and it was because of this that War Admiral was the 4th Triple Crown winner of 1937 instead of 3rd. Sam Riddle owned War Admiral's sire, Man O' War. In 1920, he refused to bring him to the Kentucky Derby because it was too far west and too early in the year for Riddle's taste. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
War Admiral won 21 out of 26 of his starts with jockey Charlie Kurtsinger. In the Preakness stakes, War Admiral faced one of his toughest competitors, Pompoon. The Admiral won that within a fifth of a second of the stakes record. Soon after, at the Belmont Stakes, he was against Brooklyn and Pompoon once again. He stumbled at the start but it did not effect his race. He took a four length victory with Brooklyn in first and Pompoon even farther back in seventh. In 1937, War Admiral won the Triple Crown, earning himself the title of Horse of the Year. | |
 |
One of the most important races of his career was the match race against Seabiscuit in Maryland. The two were neck and neck until the very end of the race where the little horse pulled up and the Admiral lost by four lengths. His cousin not only beat him, but set a new record for a mile and three-sixteenths as well. After his loss to Seabiscuit, he won two more less important races before retiring to stud with a total of $273, 240 in earnings |
|
|
| Before he died in 1959, War Admiral sired 40 stakes winners. A few of the many are Blue Peter, Admiral Vee, Cold Command, and Navy Page. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He is now ranked thirteenth in the U.S. Top 100 Thoroughbred Champions of the 19th Century. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
