October 12th through October 18th

October 12, 1920 – Thoroughbred racing legends Man o’War and Sir Barton met in a match race at Kenilworth Park in Windsor, Ontario. Man o’War, three years old at the time, was made the favorite by the bettors at 5 to 100, despite the fact that Sir Barton was a full year older and had recently become the first horse to win the Triple Crown. After racing only sixty yards, Man o’War pulled to the front and remained there for the rest of the race, eventually winning by seven lengths. This race was especially significant in that it was the first race around a circular track to be filmed in its entirety. Man o’War would go on to have a tremendous racing career, eventually retiring to become a legendary stallion.

More information is available at http://sports.jrank.org/pages/3007/Man-o-War--Race-Century.html

Sir Barton photo courtesy of http://www.belmontstakes.com/history/sirbarton.aspx

Man o’War photo courtesy of http://www.horsemanmagazine.com/2009/07/the-story-of-man-o-war/


October 14, 1983 – Go Man Go, the three-time world champion Quarter Horse, died at the age of thirty. He was born in 1953 and was named World Champion Racing Quarter Horse three times. He was also the first two year-old horse to ever receive that honor. During his racing career Go Man Go earned $86,151. He then went on to become one of the greatest Quarter Horse racing sires, siring 942 foals, among them World Champions Goetta and Go Josie Go. Breyer’s Animal Creations even created a model in honor of Go Man Go.

More information about Go Man Go may be found at:
http://www.sabenquarterhorses.com/Legends.html

Photo courtesy of
http://quarterhorselegends.googlepages.com/home42


October 18, 1909 – Dr. William Key of Tennessee, owner of the famous Beautiful Jim Key, passed away. Dr. Key owned Jim Key from birth. He trained the horse to do basic tricks like rolling over and bowing, but also to differentiate between letters, to recognize his name, to differentiate between coins and colors, and to do mathematics. Dr. Key used sugar and kindness to train Jim Key, and Jim Key was eventually exhibited in many cities, furthering the message of kindness to animals. Dr. William Key is buried in Willow Mount Cemetery. Jim Key died on September 18, 1912. He was twenty-three.
An article on the pair can be found here: http://blog.audreysdream.org/index.php?cat=19

Photo courtesy of: http://bridlepath.wordpress.com/2007/01/28/equine-prodigies/