I would like to offer my comments in response to two issues posted elsewhere on these web site pages:
#1 - Length of MOW’s stride – my brother-in-law (Steve C.) and I conducted considerable research on this subject, in the early 1980’s with the assistance of the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga and with Doris Jean Waren at the Keenland Library in Lexington, KY. We uncovered that the maximum length of MOW’s stride, as Officially Measured, was 26 feet. This was recorded in both the Thoroughbred Record (Nov. 6, 1920) and Bloodhorse Magazine (April 30, 1966), as follows:
“Man o’ War’s stride, which has been reported variously from to 25 to 28 feet, was measured in the stretch run of the Lawrence Realization at 26 feet”
C.W. Anderson, in his book, “Big Red” (c.1943) wrote, “ .. his stride, which covered 29 feet, is the longest on record." (see, page 26). Also, an article by Theodore Von Ziekursch, which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post on July 26, 1930, stated, “ …at Harve de Grace they measured his stride ... and in the back stretch, with the jockey turning on the juice by letting him out, this was increased to 29 feet.”
However, both the book and the article are written with considerable hyperbole and embellishment, so their “29 foot” stride claims must be considered bogus.
#2 – Re, the comment “I see this photo everywhere and people claim it's Man o' War. The jockey silks are wrong, and he's got a number on his saddle pad so it can't be a workout (methinks). What do y'all think? http://sportsville.org/manowar.jpg
Correct – the photo is NOT MOW. It’s distribution as being that of MOW has been promulgated erroneously for numerous decades by the Bettmann Archives Photo Library formerly located in NYC.
The photo clearly is not of MOW for the following readily identifiable reasons:(i) the physical conformation clearly does not match MOW’s and the horse in the photo is about two hands shorter than MOW; (ii) the jockey’s racing silks are wrong, (iii) MOW’s saddle cloth number was always #1 – not any other number; (iv) the jockey is not Clarence Kummer; (v) MOW’s tail was always braided with gold-black ribbons; (vi) on his racing days, the portion of MOW’s mane that overlapped his head was always braided in a prominent and forward-extended topknot (conspicuously missing in the photo).
