War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who is the fourth winner of the

American Triple Crown In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match Race of the Century' in 1938. War Admiral won 21 of his 26 starts with earnings of $273,240 and was the

leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in ...

for 1945. He was also an outstanding

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

sire whose influence is still felt today in descendants such as Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify.

Background

War Admiral raced as a homebred for

Samuel D. Riddle Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 – January 8, 1951) was an American businessman and racehorse owner. He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name by his father. Samuel D. Riddle, ...

, who also owned Man o' War. War Admiral was foaled at Faraway Farm in

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

, the offspring of Man o' War and Brushup. Man o' War was widely regarded as the greatest American racehorse of his time, but Brushup never won a race. They were bred together six times, producing five undistinguished fillies and one Triple Crown winner. War Admiral inherited his father's talent, but did not resemble him physically. At , or 15.3 he was smaller than Man o' War's height of 16.3 hands. War Admiral's dark brown coat was inherited from his dam, who also contributed to War Admiral's smaller size as she was under 15 hands. Because of his size, one of War Admiral's nicknames was The Mighty Atom. Others referred to him simply as The Admiral. Most sources say that War Admiral also inherited his sire's fiery temperament, which manifested chiefly in his reluctance to load in the starting gate. Away from the crowds though, he was more relaxed and given to taking long naps. His groom called him sweet, and his trainer, George Conway, found him more like his dam in terms of personality. Conway was in a position to know as he had been stable foreman to Louis Feustel while the latter trained Man o' War. Conway stayed with Riddle after Feustel's retirement, and trained several of Man o' War's most successful offspring. War Admiral's regular jockey was

Charles Kurtsinger Charles Kurtsinger (November 16, 1906 – September 24, 1946) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey who won the Triple Crown in 1937. Known as "Charley" and nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman", Kurtsinger was born in Shepherdsville ...

Racing career

1936: Two-year-old season

As a two-year-old in 1936, War Admiral won three of six races including the Great American Stakes and

Eastern Shore Handicap The Eastern Shore Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1913 and 1949 at Havre de Grace Racetrack, in Havre de Grace, Maryland. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was inaugurated and run for most of its existe ...

. However, the star of this crop was then considered to be Pompoon, who defeated War Admiral in the National Stallion Stakes. War Admiral was rated at 121 pounds on the

Experimental Free Handicap The Jockey Club is the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its s ...

, seven pounds below two-year-old champion Pompoon and seventh overall.

1937: Three-year-old season

In 1937, War Admiral started his three-year-old campaign by winning two races at Havre de Grace, including the Chesapeake Stakes. Riddle then made a fateful decision. In 1920, Man o' War was not entered in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

as Riddle did not like racing outside of New York and Maryland, and also felt the distance of the Derby was too great for three-year-olds so early in the season. For War Admiral, Riddle made an exception and made the trip west to

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was p ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. War Admiral went off as the favorite, and, despite delaying the start for several minutes, won in wire-to-wire fashion with Pompoon

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most Measurement system, systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit f ...

back in second. 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.'" The

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

was held just a week later. After again acting up at the start, War Admiral went to the lead early but had trouble negotiating the turns. Pompoon saved ground along the rail and closed alongside War Admiral as they exited the last turn. The two horses dueled down the stretch with War Admiral finally prevailing by a head. On June 5, War Admiral faced six rivals in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

, going off as the 4-5 favorite. He was particularly fractious at the start, repeatedly breaking through the barrier. After delaying the start for eight minutes, he stumbled leaving the gate. He quickly recovered his stride and won the race by three lengths with "speed to spare". His time of 2:28 tied the American Record for miles, while breaking Man o' War's track record by a fifth of a second. War Admiral thus became the fourth winner of the

. But the victory came at a price: War Admiral had struck the quarter of his right front fore-foot when stumbling at the gate, which left a gaping wound. During the race, his jockey did not notice that anything was amiss. But when led into the winner's circle, his connections found that his belly and legs were covered with blood. The injury was severe enough to cause War Admiral to miss the summer racing season. He returned in October to win three more races, including the Washington Handicap and the inaugural Pimlico Special. All told, in 1937 War Admiral won eight of eight races including the Triple Crown. He was the unanimous selection as Champion 3-Year-Old, and also earned the title of Horse of the Year in a close battle with Seabiscuit, the Champion older horse.

1938: Four-year-old season

In 1938, War Admiral won eight major races, including the

Whitney Handicap The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

and

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the s ...

. He is linked forever with the year-older Seabiscuit, who was a grandson of Man o' War and the preeminent horse based in the western U.S. Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, brought his horse across country to give Seabiscuit the chance to prove himself to the eastern racing establishment. Seabiscuit and War Admiral almost faced each other several times that summer but for one reason or another, they never met. Finally, a meeting was arranged for November 1, 1938, in the Pimlico Special in what was billed as The Match Race of the Century. Samuel Riddle asked that the race be run without a starting gate in light of War Admiral's problematic history. With War Admiral's early speed, he was widely seen to have a tactical advantage in a match race and went off as the favorite. However, Seabiscuit's trainer had secretly conditioned his horse to bolt at the sound of a starting bell, which resulted in Seabiscuit getting the all-important early lead. Seabiscuit won by four lengths and broke the track record. War Admiral raced twice more, winning the Rhode Island Handicap in 1938 and a race at Hialeah in February 1939 before an injury prompted his retirement.

Stud career

War Admiral stood at Faraway Farm until 1958, when the executors of Riddle's estate sold the remaining portion of the farm. War Admiral was then moved to Hamburg Place, where he died in 1959. War Admiral was the leading American sire in 1945 and the leading juvenile sire in 1948. Before his 1959 death, War Admiral sired 40 stakes winners. Major winners sired by War Admiral include champion

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

, Bee Mac, Navy Page, Cold Command, and Admiral Vee. As a sire, War Admiral is perhaps best known for his success with daughters of

La Troienne La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many notab ...

. This cross produced the champion filly and Horse of the Year Busher (ranked #40 in ''Blood-Horse'' magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century), as well as stakes winners Searching,

Busanda Busanda (1947–1968) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered as the dam of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Buckpasser. Background Busanda was sired by 1937 U.S. Triple Crown champion War Admiral, a son of Man o' War, who w ...

and Mr. Busher. Although War Admiral's sire line no longer exists, he remains a significant influence in modern pedigrees due to his daughters. He was the Leading broodmare sire of 1962 and 1964. Descendants in the female line include the likes of Swaps,

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963–1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1966 Horse of the Year. His other achievements include 1965 Champion Two-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Three-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Handicap Horse, and 1967 Champi ...

, and Numbered Account, as well as two Triple Crown winners,

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who became the tenth winner of the American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only two horses to have won the Triple Crown while being undefeated in ...

and Affirmed. Other descendants of note include

Dr. Fager Dr. Fager (April 6, 1964 – August 5, 1976) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who had what many consider one of the greatest single racing seasons by any horse in the history of the sport. In 1968 at the age of four, he became the only horse ...

, Alysheba,

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

and

Zenyatta Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2008, ...

. War Admiral's name appears eight times in the pedigree of the 2015 Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah.

Race record

An asterisk before the odds means War Admiral was the post time favorite Source: ''Daily Racing Form'' Past Performances

Honors and awards

War Admiral was elected to the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

in the same year as arch-rival Seabiscuit. In ''

The Blood-Horse ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

'' ranking of the top 100 US thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, War Admiral was ranked #13, with Seabiscuit as #25. In 1937, Riddle commissioned equine artist

Martin Stainforth Martin Frank Stainforth (14 August 1866 – 22 April 1957) was a British-born artist best known for his portraits of Thoroughbred racehorses he painted in England and while living in Australia and the United States. Biography Born at Martle ...

to paint War Admiral's portrait, a version of which can be found in the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

. War Admiral is buried alongside his sire at the foot of the Man o' War statue in the

Kentucky Horse Park Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75, at Ex ...

In popular culture

The 2003 movie '' Seabiscuit'' features the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. The film portrays War Admiral at 18 hands even though War Admiral and Seabiscuit were about the same size with Seabiscuit standing at 15.2 hands and outweighing War Admiral

Pedigree

References

External links

The War Admiral-Seabiscuit match at about.com

War Admiral overview at Thoroughbred Times

{{Authority control 1934 racehorse births 1959 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters Racehorses bred in Kentucky Kentucky Derby winners Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winners American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Belmont Stakes winners Preakness Stakes winners United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires American Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Thoroughbred family 11-g Godolphin Arabian sire line