October 26th through November 1st

October 28, 1943 - Kellogg Arabian ranch turned over to govt Will Keith (also known as W. K.) Kellogg originally purchased a piece of land in California, and between 1924 and 1932 he bred Arabian horses in order to help preserve the breed in America. In 1932 Kellogg had decided to donate the ranch to the University of California. He was hoping that the ranch would be kept in its original state and would serve to educate others about the Arabian horse. However, Kellogg became unsatisfied with the way that the university was handling the ranch and felt that they were more interested in the $600,000 endowment he had provided than in continuing to operate the ranch in the fashion he preferred. Kellogg wanted the ranch to be transferred to the U. S. Army, and on October 28, 1943, the Army took control of the Arabian ranch. This led to a period of five years during which public exhibition of the horses all but ceased. The ranch would later be transferred to the California Polytechnic College, which would conduct the breeding program as Kellogg originally intended.

For a full account of the story of Kellogg’s Arabian horse ranch, please see
http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/specialcollections/history/kellog...

Photo courtesy of http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/specialcollections/history/arabia...


October 31, 2008 – Champion Thoroughbred racehorse Alysheba arrived home at the Kentucky Horse Park. Alysheba won the Horse of the Year award twice during his racing career. He was perhaps best known for his run in the 1987 Kentucky Derby where he stumbled in the stretch, yet went on to overtake Bet Twice and win the race. Alysheba had previously lived in Saudi Arabia for eight years. Alysheba’s breeder, trainer, and jockey were all on hand for his homecoming. Alysheba lived in John Henry’s stall in the Hall of Champions until he was put down following a fall in his stall on March 18, 2009 at the age of twenty five.
For an article covering Alysheba’s homecoming, please see:
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=3676018
For an article on his career, please see:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2009/03/28/alysheba-dies.html

Photo courtesy of http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2009/03/28/alysheba-dies.html


November 1, 1947 – Legendary Thoroughbred Man o’War died of a heart attack at the age of thirty. He was buried in his old paddock during a public radio broadcast, and a life size bronze statue was placed on his grave. His gravesite was eventually moved to the Kentucky Horse Park in the 1970’s. Man o’War was named Horse of the Year as a three year-old and is known for both his racing career and his following career as a stallion. He sired great racehorses such as War Admiral, American Flag, and Battleship.

For a full biography of Man o’War, please see
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/ManOWar.html

Photo courtesy of http://horseracing.about.com/od/farms/ss/aa012009a.htm