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Man o' War, was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including The Blood-Horse, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and the Associated Press, voted Man o' War as the best American racehorse of the 20th century. During his racing career, just after World War I, Man o' War won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses. He was the unofficial 1920 American horse of the year and was honored with Babe Ruth as the outstanding athlete of the year by The New York Times. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. On March 29, 2017, the museum opened a special exhibit in his honor, "Man o' War at 100".
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actually the fourth oldest racetrack in the US. In 1857 the Empire Race Course was opened on an island in the Hudson River near Albany, but was in operation only a short time.
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to international classifications, behind only the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. First held in 1864, it is the oldest stakes race in the United States specifically for 3-year-olds, and was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers. The race was not run in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911, and 1912.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the summer meeting at Saratoga. The past winners of the Gold Cup are a veritable who's who of award-winning Hall of Fame horses, including Easy Goer, Man o' War, Cigar, Skip Away, Curlin, Slew o' Gold, John Henry, Affirmed, Forego, Shuvee, Damascus, Buckpasser, Kelso, Sword Dancer, Nashua, Citation, Whirlaway and War Admiral. Despite the current $1,000,000 purse and Grade 1 status, the stature of the race has suffered somewhat in recent years thanks to the emergence of the Breeders' Cup Classic held not long afterward, as well as a change in distance to 1+1⁄4 miles in 1990, reducing its distinctiveness.
The Whitney Stakes is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles. The current purse is $1,200,000.
The Adirondack Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1901. Held in the middle of August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, the Adirondack Stakes is open to two-year-old fillies willing to race six and a half furlongs on the dirt. It is a Grade II event with a current purse of $200,000
The Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six furlongs on the dirt.
The Sanford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of July at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A six furlong sprint race, the Grade III event is open to two-year-old horses.
The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Frequently referred to as the Dixie Stakes or the Dixie Handicap, it is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all of the Mid-Atlantic states. The race is open to horses age three and up and is run one and one-eighth miles on the turf. Currently a Grade II stakes race with a purse of $250,000, at one time the Dixie was a very important race that drew the top horses from across North America.
The Saranac Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Grade III stakes is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on turf over a distance of 1 mile. The event, currently run in early September, raised its purse to $300,000 in 2014.
The Schuylerville Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is contested at a distance of six furlongs on dirt. A Grade III event, it currently offers a purse of $150,000. In 2006, the race was downgraded from a Grade II to a Grade III. By tradition, the Schuylerville opens the Saratoga meet each year. The race is named for the nearby town of Schuylerville, New York.
The United States Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the late summer or early autumn until 1955 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs. Raced in the pre-grading era, for most of its existence the race was one of the premier shorter distance competitions for two-year-old horses in the United States.
The Flash Stakes was an important and prestigious race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names. Begun before the United States Hotel Stakes, it was the oldest race for juveniles of either gender in the US.
The Grand Union Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A sprint race, it was open to two-year-old horses and run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs.
Omar Khayyam (1914–1938) was a British-born Thoroughbred racehorse who was sold as a yearling to an American racing partnership and who became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He was named for the famous Persian mathematician, poet, and astronomer, Omar Khayyam.
The Man o' War Cup, originally the Kenilworth Gold Cup, is a solid gold trophy that commemorates the winners of the Travers Stakes, held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Winners of the Travers, affectionately called the "Mid-Summer Derby" and the oldest continuously-run grade one stakes race in the United States, have their name inscribed on the original and receive a gold-plated replica of the Cup.
The Wilson Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1930 through 1958. Inaugurated as the Wilson Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, it was named in honor of the late Richard Thornton Wilson Jr., a prominent Thoroughbred owner and president of Saratoga Race Course.
The Youthful Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run between 1903 and 1982. It was raced on dirt at three different tracks in the New York City area beginning with the Jamaica and Aqueduct Racetracks, then in 1972 to Belmont Park where it remained until being canceled after the 1982 running. The inaugural edition in 1903 was won by Hazelwood with the race suspended until 1913.
Whichone (1927–1944) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1929. Although Whichone earned important race wins as a three-year-old, injuries hampered his racing career including a bowed tendon sustained in the running of the 1930 Travers Stakes that ended his career.
The Champlain Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older first run in 1901 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Placed on hiatus in 1945, it was revived in 1954 at Jamaica Racetrack as a sprint race restricted to fillies and mares. The race was discontinued after the 1957 running.