War Admiral

Not for nothing were the horses painted by Franklin B. Voss called noble steeds. They were magnificent animals, well-muscled, fast, sleek as racecars and groomed to a fare-thee-well. Even when the horses are standing still, you sense speed is in their blood. Voss was America's premier equine artist during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, when he painted such renowned racing champions as Man o' War, War Admiral, Citation, Whirlaway and Seabiscuit. In Voss' characterful images, their personalities come across as vividly as those of any human subject.

It seems audiences can't get enough of either Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, or the film it inspired as they cram into theaters during the waning days of summer. For David Woods of Longmeadow, Mass., and his sister, Martha McMakin of Walsenburg, Colo., the book and movie bring back warm memories of their father, David F. Woods. Woods, the director of public relations during the halcyon years of the Maryland Jockey Club, helped make the 1938 match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit a reality.

They frequent Pimlico Race Course several times a week, eager to see how much daily excitement a group of weathered, white-haired men can fit into their twilight. They call themselves the Backstretch Boys, an informal clique of mostly seventy- and eightysomethings who took to horse racing at Pimlico as youngsters and now carry around its memories like a pocket of rare coins. Want to know about Pimlico during heydays past? Visit nearby Miller's delicatessen in Pikesville each morning before racing begins and listen as the Backstretch Boys settle in, as much a part of the fixtures as the metallic gray booths, framed Hollywood portraits and scents of something good sizzling from behind the counter.

Last year's chase for the Triple Crown ended when trainer Doug O'Neill stepped to a microphone stand in a patch of fenced-in grass next to a barn near the Belmont Park track. Brushing back tears, he announced that a tendon injury would prevent I'll Have Another - the 12th horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown since Affirmed last completed the trifecta in 1978 - from going to post the next day. On Saturday, a full field of 20 is expected for the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby and to begin the quest anew.

Year Horse Jockey 1919 Sir Barton Johnny Loftus 1930 Gallant Fox Earle Sande 1935 Omaha Willie Saunders 1937 War Admiral Charles Kurtsinger 1941 Whirlaway Eddie Arcaro 1943 Count Fleet Johnny Longden 1946 Assault Warren Mehrtens 1948 Citation Eddie Arcaro 1973 Secretariat Ron Turcotte 1977 Seattle Slew Jean Cruguet 1978 Affirmed Steve Cauthen

Laurel Park will celebrate its 100th anniversary with live racing, birthday cake and a Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 22 from noon to 6 p.m. The live card will begin at 1:10 p.m. As part of the centennial celebration, the first 3,000 people will receive a 100th birthday key chain, and drawings will be held for prizes such as flat screen TVs, iPads and airline gift cards. A health fair will be held and entertainment includes live music and on-track performances between races, featuring Medieval Times performers, pony club members and Jack Russell terriers and basset hounds.

The Triple Crown is at hand for Big Brown, but his coronation as one of racing's elite horses will have to wait. So say many in the racing business, people who are starving for a Triple Crown winner but wary of bestowing greatness on a precocious 3-year-old before it has been earned. Belmont Stakes Saturday, 6:25 p.m. post time, Elmont, N.Y., chs. 2, 7 Past royalty Triple Crown winners: Year Horse 1919 Sir Barton 1930 Gallant Fox 1935 Omaha 1937 War Admiral 1941 Whirlaway 1943 Count Fleet 1946 Assault 1948 Citation 1973 Secretariat 1977 Seattle Slew 1978 Affirmed

Life was never this good when the horse known as I Two Step Too earned his oats running in races as far from the bright lights and big city as a thoroughbred racehorse gets. After all those years in the company of other four-legged broken dreams, reminded each time he would race in places like Boise, Stampede Park and the Montana State Fair that he was, as they say, "not much stock," his luck had taken a sudden turn for the better. Only last summer, he was slugging it out regularly, running hard, not fast, for small money at Les Bois Park in Idaho, and up for sale each time he ran. Then suddenly, I Two Step Too was a movie star on location, traveling first-class to Kentucky and Hollywood.

Pimlico Race Course opened Oct. 25, 1870, making it the second-oldest racetrack in the country, behind Saratoga, which debuted in 1864. Few tracks boast a richer history than Pimlico, where such legendary horses as Man O' War and Secretariat graced its barns and thundered down its stretch. The Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race in 1937 remains one of sports' most famous events. Each May, the Preakness attracts 100,000 revelers and shines a national spotlight on Pimlico. But age and lack of resources for upgrades have taken their toll, and Pimlico has fallen into disrepair.

The Graw On Aug. 24, 1912, a horse named Insurance Man won the first race run at a new track in Havre de Grace. The last race, on April 26, 1950, was won by a horse named Charlight. Between 1912 and 1950 the track known as "The Graw" made the city famous. The Graw was popular for high-quality racing and attracted great horses. Man O'War won the Potomac Plate there in 1920. Citation raced there three times, twice in his Triple Crown year of 1948. War Admiral also raced there, as did Seabiscuit and Equipoise.