Racehorses named after Celebrities

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

I can see it now, August Belmont fighting in the trenches at the Battle of Verden!!


But wait, WW1 was practically over by the time MOW made his debut.

That, and Sam Riddle owned him, though Belmont was the breeder.

Kind of funny, thinking of a 68 or so year old man fighting in the trenches while doting a gas mask and bayonet.

The Belmonts named MOW before they knew they'd be selling him at auction. Originally they were going to keep him out but were afraid everybody would assume they were keeping the best and selling the lesser yearlings, diminishing what the entire group would bring. They were already up against it with their yearlings suffering distemper and looking pretty ragged for a sale. Dunno if he was named as a weanling or yearling but it was either 1917 or 1918. He was sold at Saratoga in 1918 as Man O' War.