That is great first hand experience. MOW outdrew Presidents of the United States. As you mentioned roads lined with cars for miles to see MOW funeral service,it reminded me of how MOW in life drew large crowds of followers. August 23, 1919 always comes to mind. On that date at Saratoga MOW made his first start since losing the Sanford. No one expected a large turnout for the average daily attendance at the Spa was 3,000 to 5,000 a day for 55 years.
35,000 came to Saratoga that day to see MOW even it up with Upset. My father told me the traffic jam on Union Avenue was worse than at 5th Avenue in NYC at rush hours.
MOW broke all known attendance records that day and MOW continued to draw record breaking attendance crowds until the end of his career. In his last start MOW drew the largest crowd ever to race a race in Canada.
The largest crowd at Saratoga before MOW was in 1865. They held a six week meet to celebrate the end of the Civil War which ended 4 months earlier. The murder of President Lincoln propelled General Grant into the Nations` leading citizen. U S Grant attended the races at Saratoga in 1865 and he drew 10,000 people to the track. Grant could scarcely move without people swarming all over him. Saratoga never got anything near 10,000 people there again until MOW in 1919. MOW out drew Union Saver Grant!! And by more than triple the attendance attributed to U S Grant.
