June 5, 1937: The Belmont Stakes is run at Belmont Park. A horse named War Admiral was seeking the Triple Crown.
When Man o' War was 3 years old in 1920, the Triple Crown -- winning the Kentucky Derby in Louisvlle, the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, and the Belmont Stakes just outside New York City, all in the same year -- wasn't yet a big deal. Sir Barton, the year before, had become the 1st horse to do it. Man o' War was eligible to run in all 3, but since the Derby and the Preakness were so close together, it was decided to run him only in the Preakness and the Belmont, winning both.
Man o' War became one of the leading sires of thoroughbred racehorses, and his greatest son was War Admiral. In 1937, at age 3, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, and trained by George Conway, he followed a 2-year-old season in which he'd won 3 of 6 races by entering the Kentucky Derby on May 8, as the favorite. He won it by 1 3/4 lengths over Pompoon.
Man o' War was very tall for a racehorse. War Admiral was not. Neville Dunn, sports editor for the Lexington Herald, wrote, "A little brown horse that takes after his mammy in size but runs like his daddy charged to victory in the 63rd Kentucky Derby... and he won so easily, so effortlessly, that 65,000 fans nudged one another in the ribs and said, 'I told you so! I told you that War Admiral could run like Man o' War.'"
On May 15, just 7 days later -- in modern times, it's 2 weeks between the Derby and the Preakness, and 3 weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont -- he entered the Preakness. Pompoon again provided his biggest challenge, and War Admiral won by only a head.
There were 3 weeks to prepare for the Belmont. War Admiral was very temperamental, and resisted going into the gate at all 3 races. At the Belmont, it took an extraordinary 8 minutes to get him in, and he stumbled as the gate opened. Betting on the race had already been cut off: He was a 4-5 favorite. Had been been allowed until the moment the gate opened, he might have lost his favorite status.
He quickly recovered his stride, and won the race by 3 lengths. His time of 2 minutes, 28 and 3/5ths seconds tied the American record for a race of a mile and a half, while breaking Man o' War's track record by 1/5th of a second.
What no one realized at the time was that War Admiral had struck the quarter of his right front fore-foot when stumbling at the gate, which left a gaping wound. During the race, Kurtsinger did not notice that anything was amiss. But when led into the winner's circle, his connections found that his belly and legs were covered with blood. He was taken home, and kept from racing in the Summer, returning in October to win, among other races, the Pimlico Special at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, home of the Preakness.
In 1938, he kept winning, including the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup. Then there was Seabiscuit. Although older, 5, he was a grandson of Man o' War, and thus War Admiral's nephew. They were the 2 most successful horses that year, and a match race was set up, to be that year's Pimlico Special. War Admiral was a heavy favorite, but Seabiscuit won, an underdog story that people hit hard by the Depression took to heart.
War Admiral won the Rhode Island Handicap at the end of the 1938 racing season, and won a race at Hialeah, outside Miami, early in 1939, before an injury forced his retirement. His male bloodline has run out, but descendants of his daughters include major race winners Swaps, Dr. Fager, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alysheba, Cigar and Zenyatta.
Kurtsinger died in 1946. War Admiral lived on until 1959.
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June 5, 1937 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The next season, the ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium; in 1961, Tiger Stadium.) Lou Gehrig hit 2 home runs. Joe DiMaggio also hit a home run, as did Red Ruffing, a good hitter for a pitcher, who did so pinch-hitting for Bump Hadley. Oddly, he did not then come in to pitch. For the Tigers, Hank Greenburg went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI, but did not hit a home run.
* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-5 at the Polo Grounds. Mel Ott went 1-for-4. Paul Waner went 1-for-5, and Lloyd Waner went 0-for-4 with a walk and an RBI on a groundout.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Ebbets Field.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Bees, 6-3 at National League Park in Boston. After a historically bad 1935 season, the Boston Braves attempted what would now be called a "reband," renaming the team and the ballpark. It didn't take, and in 1941, the team went back to the names "Boston Braves" and "Braves Field."
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Dizzy Dean went the distance for the win.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 8-6 at League Park in Cleveland.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 2-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. John Whitehead allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout.
* And the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 11-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Lefty Grove went the distance for the win. Jimmie Foxx went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs.
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