Sponsored by:
Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's Group 1-winner Sovereign will make his first start in North America against a competitive field which includes four other graded/grouped stakes winners in Saturday's 63rd running of the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o' War going 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf for older horses at Belmont Park.
The Man o' War, NYRA's first Grade 1 turf stakes of the year, honors Samuel D. Riddle's all-time great, who was voted by multiple publications as the greatest racehorse of the 20th century. The champion's notable accomplishments include victories in the Preakness, Belmont Stakes, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup in 1920. Perhaps the crowning moment of his career took place when defeating 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race at the now defunct Kenilworth Park in Windsor, Ontario. A winner of 20 of his 21 lifetime starts, Man o' War's lone defeat took place in the 1919 Sanford, which he lost to the ironically-named Upset.