Greatest Racehorse?: Man o' War and the Judgment of History [Mīkstie vāki]

An analysis of Man O’ War’s legacy within two categories: excellence (physical attributes), comparing the colt to fifteen other renowned horses; and greatness (an athlete’s long-term impact on the sport as a whole), highlighting how he revived the racing industry in the aftermath of WWI, Prohibition, and baseball’s Black Sox scandal.

Is Man o’ War, the legendary champion who revitalized American Thoroughbred racing, truly the greatest racehorse in history, or has time produced an even more extraordinary champion?

“Of all the great horses which have thundered over the American turf, one towers above the others.” When Kent Hollingsworth, editor of The Blood-Horse, penned this line, he was writing about Man o’ War, the undisputed champion of 1919 and 1920 who won twenty of his twenty-one races, often by astonishing margins and in seemingly impossible times. There was an otherworldliness about Man o’ War, who was faster, stronger, more dominating than any thoroughbred America had ever seen.

Many today continue to proclaim that Man o’ War was unquestionably the greatest racehorse ever. But in no other sport would it go unchallenged that an athlete who excelled at the time of Prohibition remains the sport’s greatest champion. Since Man o’ War’s heyday, hundreds of thousands of thoroughbreds have competed. Surely, at least one might have been even faster, stronger, greater. The Greatest Racehorse? compares Man o’ War to some of history’s most renowned thoroughbreds, to determine whether the equine hero of a century ago remains America’s singular, most outstanding racehorse.

But Man o’ War’s importance for the sport extended beyond mere victories and fast times. Thoroughbred racing faced severe challenges during his day as the sport sought to overcome the era’s anti-gambling forces, the economic impact of a world war, and the spreading taint of baseball’s Black Sox scandal. Man o’ War’s two historic years on the racetrack spurred the sport into its recovery; it is no exaggeration to suggest that he was not merely the savior of racing, but also of the thoroughbred breeding industry. The Greatest Racehorse? considers both Man o’ War’s racetrack exploits and his role in rescuing the sport to re-determine whether he deserves to be considered America’s premiere equine superstar.