American Classic winners with Man o' War blood

Many people are surprised to learn that one of America's most popular racehorses was not entered in America's most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby.  Owner Samuel D. Riddle was unconvinced of the safety of running a three year old at the distance so soon in the year.  Man o' War did race in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.  He won both easily.

Although Man o' War himself never raced in the Kentucky Derby he had a number of descendants who did.  The first winner was his tiny gelding son Clyde Van Dusen, who won in the slop in 1929.  In 1937, War Admiral won the Derby impressively on his way to a Triple Crown.

The first classic winners by Man o' War were actually American Flag and Crusader in 1925 and 1926 respectively.  Appropriately enough, they captured the Belmont Stakes, named for the family of Man o' War's breeder, August Belmont II.

Below is a chart of the Classic winners.  Triple Crown winners are capitalized and marked with an asterisk after their name.  The descendants of Man o' War are marked in orange.

If you'd like to check on any horse's pedigree, click here: www.PedigreeQuery.com.   Clicking this link will open the site in a new tab or window.

Along with the lists of Consensus American Historical Champions and American ('Eclipse') Champions, there are more lists available by clicking the appropriate buttons.  There is a list of the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees with Man o' War blood, and the Top Racehorses of the 20th Century according to various polls.  Again, all horses marked in orange are descendants of Man o' War.