War Admiral
In 1937, War Admiral started his three-year-old campaign by winning two races at Havre de Grace, including the Chesapeake Stakes. Riddle then made a fateful decision. In 1920, Man o' War was not entered in the Kentucky Derby as Riddle did not like racing outside of New York and Maryland, and also felt the distance of the Derby was too great for three-year-olds so early in the season. For War Admiral, Riddle made an exception and made the trip west to Churchill Downs in Louisville. War Admiral went off as the favorite, and, despite delaying the start for several minutes, won in wire-to-wire fashion with Pompoon lengths back in second. 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.'"