The Universal movie Seabiscuit (2003) portrayed War Admiral as a near 18-hand Goliath in comparison to a supposedly weaker adversary he met at Maryland's Pimlico Racecourse. That encounter is part of sports lore, and most racing observers realize that contrary to cinema embellishment, War Admiral, who stood under 16 hands, was a small horse by Thoroughbred standards. Sired by Man o'War out of the Sweep mare Brushup, he was foaled in 1934 at Glen Riddle Farm in Kentucky. A brown colt, War Admiral had a beautiful head and lovely conformation.
Sometimes referred to as “the Mighty Atom," War Admiral was spoken of in deference to his magnificent sire, and remembered as the horse who was soundly defeated by western rival Seabiscuit in a match race. These facts should neither be ignored nor preclude a deeper look into the heart of a great champion. War Admiral was not a folk hero, and his owner, Samuel Riddle, who also raced Man o'War, was eastern establishment. His horse was part of racing aristocracy when most average Americans struggled amid the economic crush of the Great Depression; and despite War Admiral's frequent “bratty” behavior in the starting stall, once in flight he soared. He was a powerful frontrunner, who often took an early lead and kept it.
War Admiral was trained by George Conway, the conditioner of another Man o'War son, 1926 Horse of the Year Crusader. The Admiral began his career in 1936, winning three of six starts including the Eastern Shore Handicap. He never finished lower than third but was upstaged for juvenile championship honors by Pompoon, a fine horse, who defeated him in the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park.
The colt made his three-year-old debut on April 14, 1937, and won a six furlong allowance at Havre De Grace, in a snappy 1:11 2/5, Maryland's fastest Spring clocking to date. Ten days later he routed in the 1 1/16 mile Chesapeake Stakes and ran off by six lengths. He would next get an opportunity his father was denied: a start in the Kentucky Derby.
On May 8 twenty horses lined up for the 63rd running with approximately 70,000 spectators looking on. Favored War Admiral took part in a protracted delay before breaking from precarious stall one. Heelfly was away first but the Admiral was quick into stride and promptly took charge. Restrained by jockey Charley Kurtsinger, he never relinquished the lead and drew away in the stretch with a commanding one and three-quarter length margin at the wire. The runner-up was Pompoon. The winner sped the Churchill Downs course in 2:03 1/5, then the second fastest time after Twenty Grand's 2:01 4/5, recorded under Kurtsinger in 1931.
One week later the Preakness Stakes had eight starters, and the Derby winner was again misbehaving in stall one. Once off, Flying Scot had the jump but was quickly passed by War Admiral. Less than a furlong from home, Pompoon stubbornly engaged him, but the Admiral prevailed by a head. On a surface labeled good, his time for the one and three-sixteenths miles was 1:58 2/5, equaling Omaha's mark and just missing High Quest's stakes record when both these horses caught a fast track.
The sixty-ninth running of the Belmont Stakes on June 5 would showcase War Admiral's heart and determination but not before his antics would again hold up the proceedings; then keen to go, and breaking from the outside, he overreached with his hindleg, and severed the right forefoot with his shoe. Bleeding and oblivious to his self-induced injury, the Admiral set a brisk pace well ahead of the field, but with ample reserve. He coasted home by three lengths in a time of 2:28 3/5 to clip a fifth of a second off his sire's track mark when Man o'War had carried eight fewer pounds in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. War Admiral's time also easily broke the old race mark of 2:29 1/5 set by Peace Chance in 1934, and equaled the American record. The colt had become the fourth American Triple Crown winner after Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, and Omaha.
War Admiral returned in the Autumn, and made three starts in eight days, winning a 1 1/16 mile allowance and the 1 ¼ mile Washington Handicap, both at Laurel, followed by a victory in the 1 3/16 mile Pimlico Special Handicap, when he conceded up to twenty-eight pounds. With an undefeated eight race campaign, he was named champion three-year-old male and Horse of the Year.
War Admiral came back at age four on February 19, 1938 with a seven furlong allowance win at Hialeah, before carrying 130 pounds on March 5 to annex the 1 ¼ mile Widener Handicap, giving second place finisher Zevson and War Minstrel in third, twenty-six and nineteen pounds respectively. He didn't race again until early June. Assigned 132 for Aqueduct's one mile Queens County Handicap, he held off Suburban winner Snark, in a rapid 1:36 4/5 to flirt with the course record. Three weeks later he was again assigned 130 in the 1 1/8 mile Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs. On a heavy track, and again giving considerable weight, he missed third by a nose, the only time he was ever out of the money. Starting on July 27 War Admiral won five straight races from a mile to the two mile Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 1. Seabiscuit had also been busy and as summer disappeared into fall, the two superstars held their confrontation.
On November 1 the lone entries War Admiral and Seabiscuit received imposts of 120 pounds for the 1 3/16 mile Pimlico Special. The Admiral was in stall one, and 'the Biscuit' in two. At the break Seabiscuit was uncharacteristically off fast. War Admiral was able to draw even, but as they headed for home, Seabiscuit bolted away to a four length winning margin in track record time. Despite the stunning loss, War Admiral raced back eleven days later at Narragansett, winning the 1 1/8 mile Rhode Island Handicap.
In what would be his final race, on February 18, 1939, five-year-old War Admiral won a seven furlong allowance at Hialeah. He exited with 26 starts, 21 firsts, 3 seconds, 1 third, and $273,240 in earnings.
War Admiral was a big success as a stallion, among his many stakes winners, the filly and 1945 Horse of the Year Busher, and Blue Peter, two-year-old champion in 1948. As a broodmare sire, War Admiral was even better, with his daughters producing over 100 stakes winners, including Iron Liege, champion Affectionately, and the great Buckpasser.
War Admiral was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1958 the year before he died. He was Man o'War's finest son, and his achievements stand proudly on their own. The Admiral was a true champion and holds a prominent place among the pantheon of Thoroughbred greats.
Recommended Reading:
Edward L. Bowen, War Admiral Thoroughbred Legends, Number 17 In A Series (Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press, 2002).
Laura Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (First Trade Paperback Edition. New York: Ballentine Books, 2002).
Robert Shoop, Down To The Wire: The Lives Of The Triple Crown Champions (Everson, WA, USA; Chilliwack, BC, Canada: Russell Dean and Company, 2004).
Marvin Drager, The Most Glorious Crown: The Story of America's Triple Crown Thoroughbreds from Sir Barton to Affirmed (Chicago: Triumph Books, 2005).
Copyright 2010, 2012 by John Califano
