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Churchill Downs

Mythical Horses- Hindoo, Regret, & Citation

Man o’ War was a famous American racehorse in Kentucky. In 2 seasons he won 20 out of 21 races and set 5 track records for speed. He also won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1920, but he never raced in the Kentucky Derby. Man o’ War was owned by Samuel D. Riddle and was so popular that he was treated like a human. The horse’s birthdays were celebrated with parties and broadcasted on the radio. Unfortunately, Man o’ War died in 1947 and had his own funeral. More than 200,000 people came. His body was the first horses’ body to be preserved and buried fully in its original state. Man o War’s grave was moved from Faraway Farm to the Kentucky Horse Park.

Another horse you should know about is Exterminator. His name may sound a little funny but he got it because his owner thought that he would “kill” the competition. Exterminator raced for 8 seasons. He competed in 100 races but only won 50- 34 were stakes races. He raced in 3 different countries- Canada, Mexico, and of course, the United States. Henry McDaniel bought Exterminator for, get this, $9,000 after his horse, Sun Briar, could not race as well.

Still, there is Secretariat. He is a chestnut colt with a barrel chest, perfect legs, and a star on his forehead. Secretariat learned about racing at an early age and it paid off. One year-end tally showed a result of nine starts, seven wins, $456,404 (talk about paying off!), and he also won the honor of being the third two-year-old horse to become Horse of the Year.