Worthy War Admiral Lost Match Race

Man o' War's Son Won Triple, Beaten by Seabiscuit, Triumphed at Stud

Jun 6, 2007

His dislike of starting gates seemed to give him the advantage in his match race with Seabiscuit, but War Admiral was beaten at the start. He later sired Busher.

War Admiral was brown, not a light chestnut like his daddy, Man o' War, or black, as portrayed in the movie Seabiscuit: An American Legend. He was about 15.2 hands in height, not near the 18 hand monster described in the film. Nonetheless, he was a handsome son of the most famous race horse of all time.

He was equally as successful, given his Triple Crown championship of 1937 and the glowing record of his progeny.

Second Tripler to Lose Match Race

The one blemish on his record is War Admiral's loss to Seabiscuit in, yes, the real life match race at Pimlico Race Course November 1, 1938. Glen Riddle Farms was given every concession by Charles Howard, owner of Seabiscuit. The location, time and place, were readily agreed to by Howard as Riddle's choices, as well as the stipulation that the two competitors not break from the irons of a regulation starting gate. War Admiral, an ornery son of Man o' War and a half brother to Hard Tack, Big Red's orneriest and least distinguished winner, didn't like starting gates. He was always allowed to break from outside the gates.

While Seabiscuit, grandson of Man o' War and Hard Tack's popular son, seemingly could adjust to anything. Seabiscuit had arrived from claimer obscurity to thrive under Howard's ownership, the training of Tom Smith, and the riding hands of John "Red" Pollard and the most famous jockey of the era, George "The Iceman" Woolf.

The older Seabiscuit got a surprisingly quick start in the match race, teasing the Triple Crown champ into the far turn, then putting him away in a four length acceleration War Admiral couldn't answer. The time of 1:56-3/5 for 1-3/16 miles was a new track record. War Admiral became the second tripler to lose a match race. The first was Sir Barton in 1920. His vanquisher was none other than War Admiral's famous father, Man o' War.

War Admiral's loss to Seabiscuit made the Howard horse Handicap Male Champion and Horse of the Year in 1938, depriving War Admiral of a HOY award in two straight seasons, as some of the great triplers would achieve. War Admiral had captured HOY in 1937, while Seabiscuit got his first Handicap Male Champion award.

Leading Sire in 1945

But the little brown colt stood tall in his second career. At stud, he landed among the top 20 sires 11 times, leading the sire list in 1945.

His greatest daughter was Busher, 1945 HOY and Handicap Female Champion who gained prominence of her own as a runner and as a champion breeding mare. In 1944, she was Two-Year-Old Female Champion.

Top broodmare sire in 1962 and in 1964, War Admiral also fathered stakes winners Blue Peter, Busanda, Searching, Cold Command, War Jeep, and War Date.

The copyright of the article Worthy War Admiral Lost Match Race in Horse Breeds is owned by BarbaraAnne Helberg. Permission to republish Worthy War Admiral Lost Match Race in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.