Man o' War Stakes

Man o' War history

The name Man o’ War is synonymous with arguably the greatest Thoroughbred of all time. And the Grade 1 Stakes at Belmont this weekend is shaping up to be one of the best of the year.

The Man o’ War Stakes, a 1 3/8-mile race on grass with a $500,000 purse, is a rubber match between 6-year-old Gio Ponti and 7-year-old Mission Approved, who have split their two career face-offs. The first was in last year’s Man o’ War and the second was last month’s Manhattan Handicap.

It's only the latest great match-up in a race with history that stretches back 90 years.

Man o’ War, who only raced as a 2- and 3-year-old, ran to a career 20-1 record in 1919 and 1920, including dominant victories in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. In that 3-year-old season he shattered records and did not lose a single race. He also had a strong record at stud, including siring 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral.

In 1959, 12 years after his death, NYRA felt it was time to properly honor the champion horse who, just two years earlier, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

The race began with two divisions in 1959, but that was the only year the race organizers decided to do that. In addition, in both 1959 and 1961 it was run as the Man o’ War Handicap when it was run at Aqueduct Race Track. It was also run there from 1963-1967, and in 1987.

Beyond location, its distance has also varied over time. Over different stretches in the 1960s and '70s it was run at a whopping 1 5/8 miles and a mile and a half. Since 1978 it has existed at its present distance of 1 3/8 miles. Furthermore, since 2008 it has been a staple of Belmont’s July slate, although prior to that the race used to be featured on its fall calendar.

Regardless of the conditions, the Man o' War has always been considered a top-tier race that attracts some of the best horses from around the world.

In 1973, after Secretariat became the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown, he ran in the Man o’ War, where he continued his dominance with a five-length victory, running 1 1/2 miles in a race-record 2:24.80. The current record at 1 3/8 miles was set in 2005 by then 6-year-old Better Talk Now, a Graham Motion-trained horse who ran the distance in a blazing 2:11.65.

Not only American horses have succeeded in the race. Notably, Daylami in 1998 and Fantastic Light in 2000 came over from Europe to win it.

This year, track goers will get to see if Gio Ponti can be the first horse to win the stakes in three consecutive years. Majesty’s Prince (1983-84), Solar Splendor (1991-92), and With Anticipation (2001-02) have all won the race twice in a row.

Mission Approved won’t make that an easy feat. Although Gio Ponti was victorious when the two came head-to-head in last year’s Man o’ War, Mission Approved won the Manhattan Handicap a month ago over his rival, who finished third. - Andrew Beaton