Triple Crown winner: War Admiral
Twelve horses have won the American Triple Crown – composed of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes – which was patterned after the English Triple Crown that dates to 1809. When Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, it was not considered a Triple Crown feat. The three races were not acknowledged as being tied together as the Triple Crown until the 1930s. The Thoroughbred Racing Associations commissioned Cartier to craft a Triple Crown trophy – with three sides representing the three jewels – in 1950, and the trophy retroactively was awarded to the eight previous winners of the three races. In 1973, Secretariat was the first horse to be awarded the trophy after he accomplished the sweep.
WAR ADMIRAL - 1937
Br. c., 1934, by Man o’ War—Brushup, by Sweep
Owner: Glen Riddle Farm
Breeder: Samuel D. Riddle (Ky.)
Trainer: George Conway
Jockey: Charles Kurtsinger
Race record: 26 starts ages 2-5, 21 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, $273,240.
At 2: Won Eastern Shore Handicap.
At 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Washington H., Chesapeake, Pimlico Special.
At 4: Won Widener H., Jockey Club Gold Cup, Saratoga Cup, Saratoga H., Whitney, etc.
A son of the mighty Man o’ War, War Admiral brought many of his illustrious sire’s characteristics to the racecourse. In fact, he was owned and bred by Samuel D. Riddle, who campaigned Man o’ War.
Usually a bundle of nerves as he entered the track from the paddock, he was possessed of blazing early speed and the ability to carry it over all distances. In the Kentucky Derby, War Admiral went postward as the favorite and led gate to wire to defeat champion 2-year-old Pompoon and win by 1 3/4 lengths. A week later, he was put to a sterner test by that one in the Preakness, holding off Pompoon to win by a head. In the Belmont, War Admiral stumbled at the start, injuring his right foreleg, but he was able to win by three lengths. He went to the sidelines until October. He was undefeated in his 3-year-old season.
War Admiral had a brilliant season at 4, winning 9 of 11 starts, but it is sometimes overshadowed by his well-publicized loss to Seabiscuit in the Pimlico Special. Only once did he finish unplaced, that in the mud in the Massachusetts Handicap.
At stud, War Admiral was a top sire, getting 40 stakes winners, including champions Busher and Blue Peter. He stood at Riddle’s Faraway Farm in Kentucky until Riddle’s death and then relocated to Hamburg. He died in 1959.