Thoroughbred Champions -- Championing the Horse & the Sport

War Admiral and the Red Badge of Courage

by Eva Jolene Boyd

In 1918, Samuel Doyle Riddle paid $5,000 for a big, red yearling colt named Man o'War, probably the biggest bargain in the history of American racing. When his legendary racing days were over in 1920, he went hom to Faraway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, to begin his second career. The son of the peppery Fair Play became the foundation of Riddle's new breeding and racing stable and sired 61 stakes winners, including American Flag, Crusader, War Relic, Mars, Scapa Flow, Edith Cavell, and Clyde Van Dusen. The best of them all was War Admiral.

War Admiral, like most of Man o'War's get, came from a Riddle mare. His second dam, Annette K, had been unplaced in her only start and was given to Riddle by Walter M. Jeffords (whose wife was Mrs. Riddle's niece). Bred in 1928 with the great stallion Sweep, Annette K produced the filly Brushup, a little wisp of a thing, standing slightly under 15 hands when mature. She raced three times, without winning, before going to Faraway Farm.

The idea that would lead to the breeding of Brushup originated many years earlier with the noted botanist and geneticist, Luther Burbank. Seems he'd made the remark to one Richard H. Pearson that great offspring seem to stem from old men and young women and wondered if the same would work with horses. Burbank never knew how well it worked; he died in 1926.

By 1933, Man o'War was 16 and while he had produced some outstanding runners, the feeling was he could do much better. Pearson recalled his conversation with Burbank and told Riddle, who took the idea to Harrie Scott, Manager of Faraway Farm. Scott was excited.

One youthful candidate for Man o'War's court was little Brushup. Riddle didn't favor her, she didn't seem cast in the same heroic mold as Big Red, but Scott did. "She is small," Scott conceded, "but compact -- like Equipoise. And nobody will say he couldn't run or pack weight." On paper the cross was marvelous: Fair Play's line through Man o'War and the Domino and Ben Brush lines through Sweep.

When their son was born on May 2, 1934, Scott wrote Riddle that "a Derby winner has arrived. He's little but he looks like a grand runner."

Resembling his dam more than his sire, War Admiral came in plain brown wrappings with not a speck of white on him and he would top out at just a shade over 15.2 hands at age three. He broke his maiden in his first start, 4 1/2 furlongs at Havre de Grace on April 25, 1936. A month later he outran Scintillator by two lengths at five furlongs down Belmont Park's Widener course.

Moving up to classier company, War Admiral went to the post on June 6 favored to win the National Stallion Stakes over the promising Pompoon, but finished third, 2 1/2 lengths behind the son of Pompey. Charley Kurtsinger, who would become the Admiral's regular rider, was up on him for the first time on July 1 in the six-furlong Great American Stakes at Aqueduct and went off the second choice to Foxcatcher Farm's Fairy Hill. After setting the pace, War Admiral was unable to hold off Fairy Hill at the finish.

A cough and fever forced War Admiral to miss Saratoga's meeting and he returned to the races 11 weeks later for the Eastern Shore Handicap at six furlongs. The crowd sent him off as the third choice behind Maedic, which had dominated Saratoga's juvenile races, and Bottle Cap. War Admiral went out front at the flag and never looked back, winning by 5 lengths in 1:11 for the six furlongs, a new stakes record.

Three weeks later, the fans at Maryland's Laurel track bet him down to odds-on for his last start of the year, the Richard Johnson Handicap at six furlongs. The track turned up muddy and War Admiral "slipped repeatedly during the stretch drive" to finish second to Bottle Cap.

Pompoon was voted Two-Year-Old of the Year, but War Admiral ranked among the top ten juveniles. He wintered at his owner's Glen Riddle Farm in Maryland, then returned in April of 1937 a more handsome individual. He barely tipped the scales at 900 pounds, but had filled out and muscled up to where his conformation could not be faulted.

He toyed with his rivals in his first start on the 14th, six furlongs at Havre de Grace. Kurtsinger allowed him to gallop out a mile in 1:41 to tune up for the Chesapeake Stakes at 1 1/16 miles ten days later. Odds-on in the Chesapeake, War Admiral burst from the gate like a bullet and increased his advantage at every call to win off by six in 1:45.

Sam Riddle believed that the first week in May was too early for three-year-olds to go the Kentucky Dery distance of ten furlongs, the reason Man o'War didn't run, but he entered the Admiral in the classic's renewal and the record crowd sent him to the post favored at 8-5 over 19 others, including Pompoon.

Never a good post horse, a habit that he didn't exactly lick off the grass since his daddy held up many a start, War Admiral kept them at the gate for more than eight minutes. When the break finally came, he went immediately to the lead and stayed there to win by 1 3/4 lengths over Pompoon in 2:03 1/5, the race's second quickest renewal.

Of his victory, Neville Dunn, sports editor for the Lexington Herald, wrote: "A little brown horse that takes after his mammy in size but runs like his daddy charged to victory in the 63rd Kentucky Derby... and he won so easily, so effortlessly, that 65,000 fans nudged one another in the ribs and said, 'I told you so! I told you that War Admiral could run like Man o'War'.'"

He scared off all but seven rivals for the Preakness a week later and went off at 2-5 over Pompoon, who had turned in a sizzler workout a few days before. Unruly at the post, War Admiral took his customary position at the front. Finding firmer footing well out from the rail on a track listed as good but still cuppy from recent rains, he was caught off guard when Pompoon slipped through on the inside on the far turn and drew even. With Pompoon's rider whipping furiously and Kurtsinger merely waving his stick, they ran as one to the wire, where War Admiral prevailed by a head. His time of 1:58 2/5 was only two ticks off the track standard.

The Belmont Stakes came three weeks later and of it, Bob Considine wrote: "The little dark-brown colt... won the 69th renewal of the grueling Belmont Stakes as only and and his deathless pappy could win them."

But there was much more to the story. War Admiral held up the start for eight minutes while he dragged assistant starters through the gate, then was finally allowed to start on the outside. When the break came, he stumbled and almost went down. With the agility of a cat, the Admiral gathered himself, dashed to the front, and was in the clear by the time the field hit the clubhouse turn. Never threatened, he won by three over his six rivals, including Pompoon. The crowd roared when his time was posted, 2:28 3/5, faster by a tick than his daddy's track record for a mile-and-a-half and equaling the American standard.

Alone it was a smashing performance, rating up there with any other in the race's long history. Just how smashing no one knew until he entered the winner's circle. Trainer Conway's first post-race concern was always how his horse fared and his attention was immediately drawn to a gosh-awful amount of blood oozing from the colt's right forefoot, his underbelly splattered with blood.

Incredibly, he found that an inch-square area of the quarter are part of the hoof was sheared off, having most likely done the deed when he caught himself at the start. The Belmont Stakes has since been won in quicker times and by far larger margines, but none with more class.

Meanwhile, during the 4 1/2 months the colt was out growing a new hoof, a four-year-old grandson of Man o'War was writing his own headlines from California to New York. The ex-claimer Seabiscuit, whose sire Hard Tack was one of Man o'War's least distinguished stakes winner, had won 10 of his last 13 races, including seven straight. Fans hoped the two might meet.

War Admiral beat older horses in an allowance race at Laurel on the 26th and was entered in the Washington Handicap on the 30th. Seasbiscuit was also among the entries, but when persistent rain threw him off his training schedule, he was withdrawn. Giving actual weight to older horses, War Admiral won as he pleased then closed his unbeaten season just three days later with a win in the inaugural Pimlico Special under 128 pounds. Seabiscuit finished the year with the highest earnings and the handicap division championship, but Riddle's colt took home a bigger plum: the Horse of the Year title.

In late December, War Admiral was shipped to Florida with Hialeah's Widener Handicap on March 5 his immediate objective. He tuned up for the Widener with an easy win in a 7-furlong allowance on February 19, even after breaking through the gate ten times before being allowed to start on the outside.

In spite of his nine-race winning streak and some head-turning works during the week, a dozen opponents accompanied him to the post, perhaps encouraged by his 130 pound impost and the 19 to 29 pounds weight spread. Again allowed to start from outside the stalls, War Admiral outran the field to the first turn, never looked back, and covered the mile-and-a-quarter in 2:03 4/5.

Sam Riddle had a running battle with handicappers, who he felt singled out his good horses. When they began adding lead bars to War Admiral's saddle pad, Riddle was vehement. He reminded them that his colt was small and shouldn't have to carry more than 130 pounds. Other horses that couldn't be handicapped downward, he argued, didn't belong on the same track with the Admiral. In disgust, he sent the colt to Maryland.

Meanwhile, Seabiscuit had returned to the races in early April, the Westchester Racing Association came up with a $100,000 winner-take-all match race to be run on May 30 at Belmont Park. Both Riddle and Charles Howard, Seabiscuit's owner, agreed to the mile-and-a-quarter distance, and the 126-pound imposts. To prepare for the event, War Admiral took up residence at Belmont Park. Seabiscuit, having won the Agua Caliente and Bay Meadows Handicaps, arrived on April 25, but did not train well after the grueling cross-country rail trip, and was declared from the race.

Disappointed, Riddle entered the Admiral in the Suburban Handicap for the same day despite the 132 pounds weight. When overnight rains soaked the track, trainer Conway scratched the colt a couple of hours before post time in the absence of Riddle, who was ill in bed. The fans were furious, expecially since the track dried out so well under sunny skies that Wheatley Stable's brilliant five-year-old Snark ran the ten furlongs in 2:01 1/5, a new stakes record.

They were still upset the following Saturday, June 6, and booed War Admiral as he went to the post for the Queen's County Handicap at a mile. Moments later, the jeers turned to cheers. Carrying 132 pounds, giving six to Snark and 20 to 23 pounds to the other two starters, the Admiral rated just off the pace, then held off Snark in a stretch duel to win by a length in 1:36 4/5, just four ticks off the track record for his 11th win in a row.

With both he and Seabiscuit entered in the Massachusetts Handicap on June 29, co-weighted with 130 pounds, it seemed the big confrontation was at last a reality and Boston's Suffolk Downs was packed. Once again, the rains came, turning the track into a sea of mud. Howard scratched his colt 45 minutes before post time. Riddle wanted to pull his color-bearer as well, but allowed him to start against his better judgement. War Admiral, giving from 23 to 29 pounds to five rivals, was never a factor and "tired under his impost during the last quarter mile" to finish fourth.

After a bit of a rest, War Admiral invaded Saratoga Springs and took the Old Spa and its weight-for-age races by storm, starting with the Wilson Stakes at a mile on July 27. Despite the mud, he whipped Fighting Fox by eight lengths. Just three days later, he paraded to the post for the Saratoga Handicap at ten furlongs under 130 pounds. Included in the field of five was the grand mare Esposa.

Conway instructed Kurtsinger to go easy and win only by what was necessary. War Admiral galloped on the lead, breezing a mile in 1:39. Esposa closed on him in the stretch and got to the colt's neck, but War Admiral "held her safe to the end" in a leisurely 2:06.

War Admiral closed out the meeting with gallops in two of Saratoga's biggest weight-for-age events. Kurtsinger had been injured in a bad spill so Wayne Wright was given the leg up on August 20 for the Whitney Stakes at 10 furlongs. Only Esposa and Fighting Fox faced him, and War Admiral outran them from the start.

The last of the big four was the Saratoga Cup on August 27 and again he had only two opponents, Esposa and Anaflame. This time, War Admiral beat the mare to the wire by four lengths in 2:55 4/5, just four ticks off of Reigh Count's record.

War Admiral didn't start again until the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 1. It was getting increasingly difficult to find opponents and only a couple of three-year-olds named Magic Hour, coming off a victory in the Lawrence Realization at 1 5/8 miles, and Jolly Tar loaded into the gates with him. The crowd wasn't the least concerned and sent their hero off at 1-12.

War Admiral was allowed to lope through ho-hum fractions of :25 1/5 and :27 1/5, a mile in 1:44 3/5, and ten furlongs in 2:09 4/5, a disaster for his foes. You just don't let a War Admiral relax on the lead and expect him to come back. The Admiral increased his speed on his own and ran the final two furlongs in :25 3/5 to win by three lengths in 3:24 4/5. "At no stage of the running," read the chart, "was he urged and was galloping along under restraint all through the stretch."

In the meantime, Seabiscuit had come east yet again and captured the Havre do Grace Handicap. And throughout the summer and early fall, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Pimlico's young president, had been busy finalizing the details of the anticipated match race. Finally, in mid-September, he, Sam Riddle, and Charles Howard met at the Information Dest in New York City's Pennsylvania Station, where the two owners signed their names to an undated document titled simply, "Pimlico Match Race." The race was actually the Pimlico Special, so the date and distance were fixed for November 1st, and a mile and three-sixteenths.

Both colts would carry 120 pounds; the track must be fast -- both Riddle and Howard agreed to that -- the decision of same to be made by 8:30 the morning of the race. In deference to War Admiral's aversion to mechanical gates, a walk-up start from a flag would be used. The winner would take all of the $15,000 purse. Each owner would deposit a certified check in the amount of $5,000 with the Maryland Jockey Club to be held if his horse was a no-show, in which case it would go to the entry walking-over.

Racing fans wondered what could go wrong this time, and needless to say, prayed for dry weather. War Admiral's backers were confident; no horse in the country could outrun him. As excited as they were about the meeting, even Seabiscuit's most ardent admirers had to be a little apprehensive.

Winner of 16 of his last 17 starts, War Admiral was a master at controlling the pace at any distance, dooming his rivals into playing catchup with a fresh horse. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, generally came from well off the pace. True, he held at least six track records plus another that he shared, but there is a single strategy in a match race: make the other horse crack. You have to be able to run with him or make him come to you. Here, War Admiral had the distinct advantage.

But what was trainer "Silent" Tom Smith doing with that big-kneed horse in all those private workouts?

On the morning of November 1, Jervis Spener, Chairman of the Marlyand Racing Association, walked around Pimlico, kicking up dry dirt as he went, then made his announcement: the track was fast.

The Pimlico Special was the sixth race on the card and, shortly before 4:00p.m., the colts paraded to the starting post at the top of the stretch. Charley Kurtsinger was fully recovered now and back on the Admiral; George "The Iceman" Woolf had the mount on Seabiscuit. Both horses were about the same size, but Seabiscuit being a year older carried a few more pounds. The 40,000 patrons backed Man o'War's son at 1-4, and his grandson at 2-1.

After two false starts, George Cassidy dropped the flag. With Woolf drumming on his hide, Seabiscuit, on the outside, sprinted clear of War Admiral so cleanly that it took everyone by surprise, including Kurtsinger. He had a daylight lead around the first turn and remained a length in front after posting four furlongs in :47 3/5. Down the backstretch, War Admiral closed the gap and had his rival by the throat on the far turn. With less than a half-mile to go, he was looking Seabiscuit in the eye. His fans roared, "Only one horse alive can outrun War Admiral and that's his pappy!"

But when Kurtsinger asked his mount for more, War Admiral came up empty. The roar from his fans turned to a stunned silence as Seabiscuit drew off to win by four lengths in 1:56 3/5, a new track record.

While War Admiral's backers insisted their hero was not himself, Riddle accepted the beating with grace. He offered no alibis, no excuses, and declared that he was willing to meet Seabiscuit again. Both colts were eligible for the nine-furlong Rhode Island Handicap at Narragansett Park, but it came just eleven days after the match and Seabiscuit would have to give War Admiral three pounds. Mr. Howard withdrew his champ; he was not ducking the issue, it was a logical choice. Seabiscuit was never a sound horse.

The Admiral did start, however, and under his top weight of 127 pounds, led most of the way to win by more than two lengths. With this, he was retired for the year with but two defeats in eleven starts. In the balloting for the year-end championships, Seabiscuit took the Handicap and Horse of the Year honors.

Riddle had planned to retire War Admiral at year's end; the horse's 1939 season was already booked with 20 mares. But he wanted him to win the Widener Handicap once more and bring home the special trophy for two-time winners. So War Admiral returned on February 18 at Hialeah and won a seven-furlong prep race in 1:22 4/5, just a tick off the track standard. When he came up with a fever two days before the Widener, War Admiral was withdrawn. Later, he wrenched an ankle, and Riddle retired him with 21 wins in 26 starts, one unplace, and more than $273,000 in earnings.

War Admiral was a highly successful stallion. He led the sire list in 1945, the year his great daughter Busher was Horse of the Year, was ranked among the top 20 sires 11 times, and was top broodmare sire in 1962 and 1964. Besides Busher, his 40 stakes winners included Blue Peter, Busanda, Searching, Cold Command, War Jeep, and War Date.

War Admiral died in 1959 and was honored with a place beside his daddy at the base of that heroic statue, deserving of the spot. His Belmont Stakes effort stands head-to-head with any other renewal. Of it, the great equine artist Richard Stone Reeves, who was 17 years old when he witnessed the race, wrote in his book, Legends:

The gallantry of the racehorse is his hall mark, and adding to the visual and emotional impact War Admiral thrust upon me that June day his own literal "red badge of courage".