Man O’ War
The Racehorse who was Embalmed After Death
Born: 29 March 1917, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
Died: 1 November 1947, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
Also Known As: Big Red
Man O’ War has been dubbed by some as the most famous racehorse in history, despite never winning the coveted American Triple Crown.
Man O’ War was originally named “My Man O’ War” by his original owner’s wife, after her husband was called up to serve in World War I. As a consequence of his time in the military, Man O’ War’s original owner, who was a very well noted thoroughbred breeder in his day, sold off his entire crop of horses. Man O’ War, whose named had been shortened to drop the “My” part, sold for $5,000.
Though Man O’ War lived to be thirty years old, he only competed as a professional racehorse for two of those years—sixteen months to be more precise! Out of the twenty-one races he took part in, Man O’ War was victorious twenty times! The only race he ever lost, Man O’ War still came in second place. He had managed to win seven records and had earned more money than any other thoroughbred in history at that point. In his sixteen-month long career, Man O’ War would bring home $249,465. Adjusted to 2026 inflation, that would mean Man O’ War earned his owners $4,042,854.70!
Today, his famous gravesite is topped by a large bronze statue of the literal stud; it is said Man O’ War sired somewhere between 379 and 386 children (depending on the source)! Two of those children would go on to be Kentucky Derby winners, while a grandson, Seabiscuit, became one of the most famous racehorses in American history.
Man O’ War was posthumously inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1957.
To learn more about Man O’ War’s embalming after his death, check out Lauren the Mortician’s video on the subject, linked in this article. Man O’ War is the only horse to have ever been embalmed—that we know of anyway.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Sources:
https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016132.html
https://kyhorsepark.com/explore/man-o-war/
https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/325
https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horse/man-o-war-ky
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Man-o-War