My mother always told us stories of how she as a small child would line up at Man O Wars barn and stand there waiting to be told "go ahead". Each child would then walk slowly one by one until it was their turn to stop reach out and pet Man O War. My mother would then run as fast as she could and get back in line to pet Man O War as many times as she could before being recognized as already having a turn.
When Secretariat won the Triple Crown I distinctly remember my mother saying, " Its a good thing Man O War wasn't on that track!"
We must all respect Man O War's owner for not allowing him to race in the Kentucky Derby that year because he felt the 3 year olds bones were to soft to go that distance. He gave up the Triple Crown for Love.
