that was great - have only ever seen pictures!!

What a horse!

A rare treat to see him "live" -

There is Man O'War and Secretariat..no others come close.

Great footage of Man O' War.  I was very excited to see live video of my all-time favorite racehorse; I didn't think there was any.  I believe he was the greatest racehorse ever.  Thanks.

I once did a research paper on Man o'War and one thing struck me about this horse: he set records which stood for many years.  That's a pretty good indication of how good he was.  The racetracks he ran on probably weren't maintained anywhere near as well as today's tracks, but his final times are quite impressive.  His margins of victory likewise were impressive.  It's hard to say how good his competition was, but sages of the day couldn't wax eloquently enough about him.  He must have been something to see!

He must have been an amazing horse - watch the 1920 Kenilworth match race with Sir Barton.  As MOW often did, he broke the track record that day, but this day he did it by something like 6 seconds.  6 seconds?!  Another interesting thing about the race footage for MOW and even his son War Admiral and his rival Seabiscuit, is look how narrow some of the tracks are, and there were people crowding the track and even STANDING ON THE RAILS.  Can you imagine?

It's also interesting to see the films and still images of MOW at the end of races and what a choke hold his jockey had on him.  He was probably only all out a few times in his life - once in the Sanford Stakes when he was trying to catch Upset, and once in the Dwyer to beat John P. Grier.  Anybody think of others?

What a horse!

WOW, thank you sooo much for the GREAT videos! That was a very nice morning surprise for me :-) Love that horse, I did read two books about him (twice) and still don't have enough. Best regards and thank you again!

I don't know if anybody is interested (or already know) but there are books about MOW, one by Walter Farely and one by Dorothy Ours - both are great and I highly recommend them if you didn't read them yet. In the book the author (D.Ours) compares how the track improves over the time, and states that if MOW would be given chance to run his race over today's track, his six second off the record would probably make at last 12.

Best regards from windy city and have a great day everyone!

Awesome! Now that's what I like to see,  the real champions of the past. What a noble steed.

Great stuff. Thanks!

I own both Man O'War books Ruffian mentioned.  The Walter Farley one has some fictional characters in it but it is still a very good read.  Dorothy Ours' book is very good though not as good as Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit.

Thank you!  What a pleasure to find this on a busy afternoon.  Loved the paddock footage.

I came across a old negative of Man O' War,as I was developing a print, I could see the image coming up and had to stop and look with awe, as the confirmation was so powerful. This thoroughbred was the absolute standard of what thoroughbreds are all about. MAN O' WAR, just standing there with the jockey up, presented power, speed and grace. I have seen champions race for forty five years, and remember old timers telling me, nothing could even come close to MAN O' WAR. Nohing.

Both "Big Reds" transcend merely being great, race horse athletes, and have galloped into legendary status, in the public consiousness, to dwell on a high plateau inhabited only by themselves. In a way, Man O' War and Secretariat can be likened to Leonardo and Michelangelo: two supremely gifted geniuses--artists beyond compare, whose works will never diminish with the passage of time.

THANK YOU!!! This is the horse that got me into racing (before Cigar, anyway). How ANYONE in their right mind could rank Secretariat above the true Big Red is beyond me -- Citation is the only one who could've ever challenged Man o' War (I was born in 1987, so I missed out on all three of them, but Man o' War is my favorite). This is a beautiful video, and it's about time SOMEONE associated with Blood-Horse broke the Secretariate mould and went to Man o' War. Kudos.

Man O'War -  God's exquisite beauty

in motion!  Thank you for allowing me to see him in motion!  I had only ever seen pictures or paintings of him.

Thank you for sharing this with us. It was great to see him and his groom together.

Hey everyone!

I'm the person who made this video, and I am ecstatic that the blood horse put it up!

Glad you all like it!

Thank you so much for the wonderful video footage.  It is so nice to see his facial expressions and his movement. It is easy to see why he was the champion of champions.  Everything he did said he was a champion.  From having to put a bit in his mouth to get him to slow down to eat to walking into the paddock before his races on his hind feet letting everybody know who was coming.  For many years at Saratoga I would walk to the tree just off the clubhouse turn that they tied MOW to, just to be near where he stood.  When they paved the roads, they wouldn't cut that tree down.  They paved around both sides of it, until just recently.  To s lee, I don't think MOW was all out in the Sanford.  There was a reason why the jockeys of both MOW and Upset were suspended at the end of the year.  They may have not made it public, but everybody new the reason why.                      

*** S Lee asked if anone can think of any other races where Man O War was allowed to run as he wished. His most famous was the Lawrence Realization. Riddle's wife begged him to tell the jockey to give MOW his head because people were so tired of seeing him run under a strangle hold.

So, for the first time ever, Man O War ran most of the race fully extended. He won by a hundred lengths and smashed the record once again!

Seriously we should clone him!

*** To Bill...

Is the Man O War tree at Saratoga still there? Or any other significant Man O War landmarks, that you can think of? I would like to see them sometime.

I tried to visit the Riddle training facility where MOW was broken as a yearling, but the losers have already destroyed everything and built some unholy golf course. I was livid beyong belief. ***

Mrs. Riddle asked Mr. Riddle to tell the jockey to let MOW run. It was in the Saint Lawrence Realization over one mile and 5/8ths. He had one competitor, whom he bested by 100 lengths, and the record he set stood for 38 years until Swaps bettered it. The only horse to come close after that was the timing of Secretariat, one furlong AFTER the wire in the Belmont, which would have bettered Swaps' effort.

He's beautiful.

I wish there was a horse out there, untouchable, glorious, and a true magnet of charisma.

Thanks for the links.

Not to start any argument but there is a way to rank Secretariat

over Man O War...times!! Secretariat holds the records for

all 3 major races..and NO ONE will

ever run the Belmont in 2:24 flat

ever again in any of our lifetimes.

Can't let that one pass. However, I do put Man O'War on the same level.

I know a lot of folks through the years believe the Sanford Stakes was fixed.  Maybe it was.  But I have 2 pieces of information, at least about the end of the race.  First, there is a photo of the end of the race you can find in many places on the web, including www.manowar.freehomepage.com/career.htm

and you can see MOW's reins are loose.  Maybe he was just let loose with 100 yards to go.

But a friend's grandfather, who worked at tracks at Agawam (Massachusetts) and Saratoga off and on in the 20's and 30's, saw the Sanford.  He said if the starter had done his job the race would never have been in doubt.  Was the starter paid off?  Maybe.  Anyway, this fellow said that when MOW was finally clear his jockey let him go - you could see him lean forward and loosen the reins and MOW took off like a rocket.  Did he do this just to look good in a fixed race?  Or did he do this because it was an honest race and it was his last chance to catch Upset in a dwindling number of yards?

As for the Lawrence, that's really interesting because somewhere I read the opposite.  Yes, Mrs. Riddle was always urging Mr. Riddle to let MOW run and she didn't like the stranglehold.  I need to look this up, but I think the Lawrence Realization was going to be a walkover and Mrs. Riddle's niece (Mrs. Jeffords) agreed to enter her horse to prevent that.  As a result, Mr. Riddle talked to Feustel (the trainer) and asked that MOW just take it easy, so Mrs. Jeffords' horse wouldn't be beaten too badly.  Too bad MOW wasn't told about this plan, because he, of course, went out and won by 100 lengths.

what a horse!

Man O' War has always been the standard to which all other Thoroughbreds are measured and he has always been my very favorite Thoroughbred. True, I was not even a twinkle in my dad's eye when he raced but my dad remembered him. Numerous records that stood for years, 100 lengths the better of another rival. He is and was the only "Big Red", sorry to all of you Secretariat lovers he was great but he was no Man O' War. If Mr. Riddle would have opened his book up to more outside mares I think that he would have sired more stakes winners and champions than he did. He would have won the Triple Crown if Mr. Riddle would have run him in the Kentucky Derby. There have been other great Thoroughbreds but there has only been one Man O' War and the videos and photos that we have we should cherish. There are many good books out there on Man O' War, if you haven't read them please do so and if you really do not know the history of this great animal once you have learned it you to will become a great admirer of the one and only "Big Red".

Great Job and Thanks for sharing this with us!!!

My sentiments are in total agreement with billmo!!!

Loved this, Man O War was always one of my heros before Secretariat came along.  Their faces and looks in their eyes remind me of each other.  This made me wanna cry almost.

WILD...LLTK!!!

What a beautiful glimpse into the past, 'bout made me tear up.

Best video I have ever seen of Big Red....SUPER! LOVED IT!

Reading Walter Farley's book some forty odd years ago made me a fan of Man O'War and horse racing.  I never dreamed there was video of him in the paddock or with Will H.  It was a rare treat.  I've watched it over and over again. As for Secretariat, he is my modern day fave.  I remember watching the Derby with my family and predicting that he would be the next Triple Crown winner.  Who was the better racehorse?  Does it really matter? Enjoy the memories of both.

Re Barbara's comment about Secretariat's times, it should be noted that Secretariat ran on tracks that had been greatly improved in the 53 years after Man o' War ran.  MOW should not be penalized for his times, which broke American and world records and stood for many years, even decades.  MOW could be ranked over Secretariat based on their won/loss records in the exact same amount of races, 21.  Secretariat lost 5 times; MOW lost once.  But ultimately they were both phenomenal and beautiful race horses that should be appreciated for their respective greatness.

THE GREATEST. Look at the weight he even carried as a 2 year old! 21 races, 20 wins and in the loss there was hanky panky involved. Talk about being consistant! A 100 length win (31 looks paltry compared to that)in the Lawrenece Realization. And his sire record will stand up to anybodies.  Simply the greatest. There may never be another like him.

Amazing! I've never seen footage of Man O' War, only photos. Like a few of you here, Walter Farley's books got me into racing, especially his novel on Man O' War. I'm too young to have seen either Man O' War Or Secretariat, so seeing this was a real treat. Thank you so much!

Like a few others here, I first read about Man O' War in Walter Farley's book.  I try to buy any other books about Man O' War I can find.  I would also like to say that I truly think Man O' War was the greatest.  Secretariat ran on faster tracks and in my mind, simply lost two many races, proving he was beatable.  He was no doubt one of the greatest ever, but there is a reason the Blood-Horse ranked Man O' War number 1 in their book.

All Man O' War fans should take a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park and see his grave. On the path from the parking lot to that graveyard is an exhibit comparing Man O' War's stride to Secretariat's. Wow!

Using stride length as the standard the greatest racehorse of all time must be Northern Dancer because he won the 1964 Kentucky Derby in 2 minutes flat on little Shetland pony legs. I think at stud he needed a ramp to reach his mares (or is he the one a hole was dug for his mates to stand in?), even so he just might be the most important stallion since Lexington, Man O' War's genetic contributions notwithstanding.

On another note, Man o' War's whipping Hoodwink by 100 lengths is one of those useless statistics bandied about by those who can't read a results chart. I have the copy of the chart of the 9/4/1920 Lawrence Realization from Page Cooper's and Roger Treat's book on Man o' War (page 213). It clearly notes that Hoodwink was an added starter and that "Hoodwink made no effort to keep pace with the leader". And why should he? All he had to do was finish the race to get the runner-up money. It didn't matter if he lost by a lip or a mile. What is astounding is that Man O' War set the record for 1 5/8 miles at 2:40 4/5 basically giving an exhibition. He had no rabbit to set him up and no competition pushing him to go faster. He did it all on his own in spite of Kummer's keeping him under restraint for most of the race. His record stood until Swaps lowered the mark to 2:38 1/5 on 7/25/1956 at Hollywood Park. Swaps' time is still listed as the North American Track record for 13 furlongs and it will probably never be broken as that distance is not run on dirt anymore to my knowledge.

Bill Nack wrote on page 324 of his must-read book "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion", that after Secretariat completed his immortal showing in the 1973 Belmont, clocker Sonny Taylor caught "him going the final eighth in 0:13 3/5, giving the colt a mile and five-eighths in an unofficial 2:37 3/5". This last furlong was with Ron Turcotte standing up in the irons trying to put the brakes on Bold Ruler's greatest son.

If you do visit the Kentucky Horse Park you can see the graves of War Admiral and War Relic plus others descended from Fair Play's masterpiece. As good as Man O' War was as a stallion, his Pappy was ultimately more accomplished. If Fair Play had not have had to play second fiddle to Colin, fans today might be more aware of his achievements. However, in spite of what many people think, all thoroughbreds do not descend from Man O' War, but a huge number do descend from Fair Play. Certainly all those descending from Man O' War automatically descend from his Dad, but Secretariat did not descend from Man O' War. But Bold Ruler's dam, Miss Disco, was by Discovery, a grandson to Fair Play in the male line via Display. Secretariat has had a tremendous impact on the breed through his daughters since such important stallions as Storm Cat and A.P. Indy are his grandsons.

Secretariat left no male line of note other than the one that led to the filly Take D' Tour, whose dad Tour D'Or was a Secretariat grandson through his sire, Medaille D'Or. Other than that filly, who cannot continue a male line, I don’t know of any candidates to keep Secretariat’s Y-chromosome in the gene pool. But it is the same as that carried by Phalaris from whom practically all modern thoroughbreds do descend in the male line. The only Man O' War male line that survived into the 21st century is that established by War Relic (buried near his Dad at the Horse Park). The most well known War Relic descendant today just might be the excellent stallion, the fabulous Tiznow, whose son, Well Armed, won the G-2 San Diego Handicap yesterday. Tiznow’ male line does not descend from Phalaris and ultimately the Darley Arabian. It can be traced directly back to the Godolphin Arabian. Man O' War appears in many female pedigree lines thanks to his son War Admiral.

Personally, I believe Secretariat was the greatest racehorse. But that doesn't mean I don't respect and admire the other great ones. Man O' War was certainly no worse than second, and his many fans 91 years after his birth have a most fearsome debate weapon in their arsenal - facts. However, Secretariat's many fans also have facts on their side. But there were many other horses in the good old days whose accomplishments on the track were quite formidable and that they still have supporters for the top honors so many years after their deaths only speaks to their greatness. That I like Secretariat best in no way diminishes or disrespects other greats such as Man O' War, Count Fleet, Citation, Bold Ruler, Swaps, Dr. Fager, Damascus, Nashua, Round Table, Kelso, Forego, Colin and so many others. This is why Blood-Horse capped their list at 100, there are so many. They were all wonderful, even Number 100 Blue Larkspur. It would be nice if Blood-Horse would reissue their masterpiece, but instead of capping the list at 100 include all the horses that received even 1 vote.

Another shameless plug for the Horse Park is that it is where the much missed John Henry is buried. It’s where Cigar is alive and well. The folks at the Horse Park treat him like the King he is. Go say hello.

While in the neighborhood take a trip to visit nearby Old Friends. You won't regret it. Plus it might help us keep all these silly arguments over which thoroughbred is the greatest in perspective. They are all great. Even the $5,000 claimer who just ran his heart out so I could cash a $2 win ticket as well as those he beat for helping make it all possible.

I have never met a horse whose nose I didn’t want to scratch.

Go to the track, where there are plenty of reasons to cheer and have a good time, and a new hero appears about every 25-30 minutes.

Though all I ever heard growing up was the name Secretariat, Man O'War has always been and always be the dream in my heart.  After first reading Walter Farley's Man O'War as a small girl, I fell in love with this magnificent animal and have been chasing him ever since.  Though I relish in modern day champions such as Curlin ( I really really love him) and Big Brown, it is impossible for a horse to steal away Man O'War's place in my heart as both the greatest champion and an amazing stud.  All you have to do is do a little research to find that around 99% of champions (Horse of the Year) since the 70's have Man O'War in their pedigree.  Thank you for these videos. Props to Carly on youtube.com for continually putting up amazing race horse footage (I don't know where you get some of this stuff but your videos have been a favorite of mine for some time).

The One, the Only, Man O'War....there never will be another like him. Thank you, Thank You for these videos, they are priceless!

Whether he is "the mostest hoss" is w/o debate.  I will not compare the race record w/Secretariat or any others--read A Legend like Lightning.  No other great sired as many classic winners and champions as he did, with a book as limited. He also outlived his competitors, to 30 1/2 years; how is that for a great heart?

Thank you for posting the wonderful video of my first love, Man O War.  He died a month before I was born, so I didn't get to know about him until I saw a print of his portrait at a furniture store when I was about ten.  It's been true love since then and I always enjoy learning more about Big Red, so those videos are very special.  To Shamfan - the first time I was at the KHP and saw the statue, all I could do was bawl like a baby.  I was just at the KHP last weekend and with the renovations being done there in preparation for the World Games in 2010, the first thing you are going to see when driving into the parking lot is the statue of Man O War.  Well, at least that's the way it looks now, but it's very impressive that way.  I love that place!  

On 7/21/2008 at 2:35 PM artgeek33's statement “All you have to do is do a little research to find that around 99% of champions (Horse of the Year) since the 70's have Man O'War in their pedigree.” Well, that sounds like a challenge to me. So using the list printed in Daily Racing Form’s 2007 “The American Racing Manual” which gives all Horses of the Year beginning in 1936 and ending with 2006. Everyone reading this surely knows who the 2007 Winner is. If not, a little research will reveal him unto you. Or better yet, go to Saratoga and watch the horses in the morning. I started with the 1970 Champion Fort Marcy, though a strict reading of artgeek33’s statement implies I should have started with Spectacular Bid, then making use of www. pedigreequery.com’s huge database I discovered the following:

1) Of the 32 Horses of the Year since 1970 (not counting duplicates), 26 (81.3%) descend in at least one pedigree branch from Man O’ War.

2) Of the 26 Horses of the Year since 1980 (not counting duplicates), 23 (88.5%) descend in at least one pedigree branch from Man O’ War.

3) The last Champion to not descend from Man O’ War, that I could find, was Secretariat’s fabulous gray filly, Lady’s Secret, who was the Horse of the Year in 1986.

I think my tally is accurate. If not please advise me of any errors.

Great footage.  Does the Keeneland library or any other entity have more film of Man O' War?  It would be great if someone made a modern documentary of him, like the ones of Seabiscuit.  Not a Hollywood fictional account, but a good documentary...Maybe Ken Burns?  Pass the word!  Thanks

Wow.  What great footage.  An amazing animal, and rightfully deserved the title of Horse of the Century.  I've read is biography.  A great story. He was the "Mostest Hoss"

txhorsefan, I find that just sitting in the shadow of the KHP Man O' War statue is refreshing mentally. What a great spot to just sit and think. Glad that no parking meters are installed there.

When I hear the name Big Red, there is only one horse fit to be called that:  the original, the one, the only Man o' War.

I hear a lot about Secretariat's Belmont Stakes.  Too bad he never reproduced those results!  Lost to Onion!  Lost to Prove out!!  Lost to Angle Light (and Sham)!!!  All in the same year!

Man o' War lost once.

Native Dancer lost once.

Secretariat couldn't beat Bold Ruler under 1 3/16ths. Guaranteed!!!!!  Or Dr. Fager, for that matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      i just finished reading a fictional biography on Man o' War , called " Man o' War " by Walter Farley . He won 20 of the  21 races he ran in! AND, the ONE RACE HE LOST WOULD HAVE BEEN WON BY HIM HAD HE NOT BEEN BOXED IN!                                    ALSO, because he was 16.2 hands high,he took a 29 foot stride. This is also because he had a way of " bounding" as he ran!

At age 9 (I am now 65) my parents and I were in Lexington and went to Faraway Farm.  On the way we passed the grave of Domino, and when there saw War Admiral, War Relic (who looked like his dad) and MOW's lead pony.  And the grave.  I wish, somehow, it could have been left there.  We then went to Calumet, and of course I loved it, but what happened to Faraway Farm and the original stud barn?

I LOVE THE VIDEO !!!   I AM THE OWNER OF ONE OF MAN O WARS DECENDANTS.... HIS NAME IS NU RIVAL, AND WHEN WATCHING THE VIDEO I CAN SEE THE SAME MOVEMENTS OF MY BEAUTIFUL RETIRED RACEHORSE !  ANOTHER OF NU RIVALS DECENDANTS IS WAR ADMIRAL SON OF MAN O WAR,

NU RIVAL IS NOW ENJOYING THE LIFE OF A PLEASURE HORSE IN COVINGTON PENNSYLVANIA.

Having lived ten miles from Belmont Park and fifteen from Aqueduct for the last forty five years I've seen all the "greats" race in person. Each one has been Outstanding. Forego carrying the world on his back come charging down the stretch. Secretariat all by himself in the Belmont. Easy Goer as a three year-old being beat by Sunday Silence and Pat Day riding too late twice. Angel Cordero and Jeorge V. Seattle Slew Holy Bull, Ghostzapper and on and on. On the other side of the tracks Nevele Pride and Stanley dancer when I was eight years old at the old (beautiful) Roosvelt Raceway. Niatross and Nialator at other metro area tracks. To say one was the best Is soooo tough. I remember being with a few friends on Affirmed Alydar Belmont day 1978. We pulled a bench up to the rail on the second floor grandstand about twenty yards to the wire with an

unobstructed view of one of the greatest stretch battles ever. to say one was better than the other I can't. THEY ARE ALL GREAT!!!!!!    

See my paper at 'Secretariat and Manorwar Revisited'. At 1.25 miles, all things being equal, both in top form, Sec defeats ManoWar by 1, probably two; and at 1.5 miles, Sec defeats ManOWar by 5 to 8. Sec's best competitor would have been Count Fleet, they would have been head to head at 1.5 miles. At stud, check your top 12 sires today; you will find Sec's name in at least three of them; as a broodmare sire, he ranks among the top. As far as horse stride, Sec's stride ranged from 24 to 26.5, possibly to 27. Manowar's body may have been slightly longer, Sec was stocky, not quite as long. The strides of Mano and Sec averaged about 25 feet, more or less. This can be found in Dorothy Ours' work on Mano. Overall, Sec was the bigger horse, stronger and would have been the better at longer distances. Add to that the big heart they found in him giving him an edge in endurance. Yea he lost a few, but was never in top form in any of those races; or the rider ran a terrible race, like his first race as a two. He won on fast surfaces, in the mud, on firm turf and on deep turf. It would be very difficult to find one better when he was in top form. Count Fleet would have been his best competitor, all things being equal, all in top form carrying 126 pounds. I have seen Mano's race against Barton already. I have a collection of classics.