A Whole New Century For You!

~*~ Brachiosaurus ~*~

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Does Giraffe Come to Mind?

Height-70 to 90 Feet,  Length to 40 to 60 feet

Found; UPPER US STATES

Brachiosaurus
Scientific Classification
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Sauropsida
Superorder-Dinosauria
Order-Saurischia
Suborder-Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder-Sauropoda
Family-Brachiosauridae
Genus-Brachiosaurus

A remarkably long neck and supported by a tremendously powerful backbone, the Brachiosaurus is often compared to the giraffe largely due to its asymmetrical body. The front legs are longer than the back, creating a sloping effect that makes the creature look even bigger than its already gargantuan height. The front feet each feature a single claw, while the hind feet each have three. While perhaps intended as defensive measures, as if a healthy Brachiosaurus needed to worry about predators - the claws have proven to fulfill the more curious purpose of gathering food, as described below.

Range, Due to its disproportionately large nostrils, it was originally hoped that the Brachiosaurus would reside mainly in the lagoon. Once immersed, however, the substantially higher water pressure at lower depths made breathing impossible. After a few tragic experiments, the decision was made to move the Brachiosaurus to the plains.

Habitat, Solitary nature. Some concern has been expressed over the creature's decidedly low libido. Testing continues.

Feeding: Plant-eater, While the Brachiosaurus prefers to eat from tree tops, it has surprised everyone with a method of gathering food unique among the other dinosaurs. Using its front legs for support, the creature is able to "harvest" its meals from the grassy plains, tearing the foliage from the soil with its clawed hind legs.

Aside from the relatively active exercise of gathering food, the Brachiosaurus has proven to be a disappointment in the personality department. It has proven difficult to maintain a healthy population, as many of the creatures have been dying suddenly. Cause of death remains a mystery. Brachiosaurus was one of the largest animals to ever walk the earth. Brachiosaurus had a relatively short tail for a sauropod, With a very long neck and long front legs giving it a very ‘giraffe like’ stance. This giant sauropod lived during the Jurassic Period, about 150 MYA. When full grown Brachiosaurus would have been over 80 feet long, and weighed about 50 tones. This fascinating model is an excellent addition to any dinosaur collection or all by itself. There are fourteen Desktop models available in the Favorite Collection line of Fleshed on Models.
 
Brachiosaurus IPA: /ˌbɹækiəˈsɔɹəs/ meaning "Arm Lizard", from the Greek brachion/βραχιων meaning 'arm' and sauros/σαυρος meaning 'lizard', was a genus of sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Jurassic Period. It was thus named because its forelimbs were longer than its hind limbs. One of the largest animals ever to walk the earth, it has become one of the most famous of all dinosaurs and is widely recognised worldwide. For many decades, Brachiosaurus was the largest dinosaur known. It has since been discovered that a number of giant titanosaurians Argentinosaurus, for example surpassed Brachiosaurus in terms of sheer mass. More recently, another brachiosaurid, Sauroposeidon, has also been discovered; based on incomplete fossil evidence, it too is likely to have outweighed Brachiosaurus. Brachiosaurus is often considered to be the largest dinosaur known from a relatively complete fossilized skeleton. However, the most complete specimens, including the Brachiosaurus in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin (excavated in Africa, the tallest mounted skeleton in the world), are members of the species B. brancai which some scientists consider to be part of a separate genus, Giraffatitan. The holotype material of the type species, B. altithorax. includes a sequence of seven posterior dorsal vertebrae, sacrum, proximal caudal vertebra, coracoid, humerus, femur and ribs: enough from which to estimate size. Based on a complete composite skeleton, Brachiosaurus attained 25 metres 82 feet in length and was probably able to raise its head about 13 metres 42 ft above ground level. Fragmentary material from larger specimens indicates that it could grow 15% longer than this. Such material includes an isolated fibula HMN XV2 1340 cm in length and the brachiosaurid scapulocoracoid referred to Ultrasauros. Brachiosaurus has been estimated to have weighed anywhere between 15 tonnes Russell et al., 1980 and 78 tonnes. These extreme estimates can be discarded as that of Russell et al. was based on limb-bone allometry rather than a body model, and that of Colbert on an outdated and overweight model. More recent estimates based on models reconstructed from osteology and inferred musculature are in the range 32 tonnes to 37 tonnes Christiansen 1997. The 15% longer specimens hinted at above would have massed 48 to 56 tonnes.

Discovery and species, The first Brachiosaurus was discovered in 1900 by Elmer S. Riggs, in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Discovery and species, Brachiosaurus includes at least two known species, and possibly a third: B. altithorax Riggs, 1903: The type species is known from two partial skeletons recovered in Colorado and Utah in the United States. It lived from 145 to 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian ages. nougaredi de Lapparent, 1960: While it may not be a distinct species nomen dubium? it is known from set of fused bones over the hip sacrum and parts of a forelimb, which were recovered in Wargla, Algeria in Africa. It lived 100 to 110 million years ago, during the Albian to Cenomanian ages of the middle Cretaceous period.
B. brancai Janensch, 1914 is known from five partial skeletons, including at least three skulls and some limb bones, which were recovered near Lindi, Tanzania, in Africa in the early 1900s. It lived from 145 to 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian ages of the Late Jurassic period.

Giraffatitan, In 1988, Gregory S. Paul noted that the African form on which most popular depictions of Brachiosaurus are based showed significant differences from the North American form B. altithorax, especially in the proportions of its trunk vertebrae and in its more gracile build. Paul used these differences to create a subgenus he named Brachiosaurus Giraffatitan brancai. In 1991, George Olshevsky asserted that these differences are enough to place the African brachiosaurid in its own genus, simply Giraffatitan. Although this name has frequently appeared on the Internet, it has rarely been used in the scientific literature outside of Paul 1988 and Olshevsky 1991. B. brancai has withers over its shoulder, and a rounded crest over its nostrils. Possibly adding further differences between the two species was the description in 1998 of a North American brachiosaurid skull Carpenter & Tidwell, 1998. This skull, which had been found nearly a century earlier it is the skull Marsh used on his early reconstructions of Brontosaurus, is identified as "Brachiosaurus sp." and may well belong to B. altithorax. The skull is more camarasaur-like than the distinctive high-crested skull of B. brancai/Giraffatitan, so if it does belong to Brachiosaurus, it would lend a great deal of support to the existence of Giraffatitan as a distinct genus.

Description and environment, Brachiosaurus was a sauropod, one of a group of four legged, plant eating dinosaurs with long necks and tails and relatively small brains. Unlike other families of sauropods, it had a giraffe-like build, with long forelimbs and a very long neck. Brachiosaurus had spatulate teeth resembling chisels), well-suited to its herbivorous diet. Its skull featured a number of holes, probably aiding weight-reduction. The first toe on its front foot and the first three toes on its hind feet were clawed.

Skull, Brachiosaurus has traditionally been characterised by its distinctive high-crested skull, though this may have been unique to B. brancai.
Another complete Brachiosaurus skull is known, which Marsh used for his early reconstructions of Brontosaurus. Carpenter and Tidwell studied this skull in 1998 and found that it belonged to one of the North American Brachiosaurus species. The skull of this North American Brachiosaurus is more camarasaur-like than the distinctive high-crested skull of B. brancai.

Metabolism, If the Brachiosaurus was endothermic warm-blooded, it would have taken an estimated ten years to reach full size. If it were instead poikilothermic cold-blooded, then it would have required over 100 years to reach full size. As a warm-blooded animal, the daily energy demands of Brachiosaurus would have been enormous; it would probably have needed to eat more than 400 lb. 182 kg of food per day. If Brachiosaurus was fully cold-blooded or was a passive bulk endotherm, it would have needed far less food to meet its daily energy needs. Scientists now believe that like most large dinosaurs, it was a gigantotherm. Brachiosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs of the Jurassic era; it lived on prairies filled with ferns, bennettites and horsetails, and it moved through vast conifer forests and groves of cycads, seed ferns and ginkgos. Some of its contemporary genera included Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, Apatosaurus and Diplodocus. While it is speculated that groups of Brachiosaurus moved in herds, fully grown individuals had little to fear from even the largest predators of the time, Allosaurus and Torvosaurus, on account of their sheer size. Brachiosaurus nostrils, like the huge corresponding nasal openings in its skull, were long thought to be located on the top of the head. In past decades, scientists theorised that the animal used its nostrils like a snorkel, spending most of its time submerged in water in order to support its great mass. The current consensus view, however, is that Brachiosaurus was a fully terrestrial animal. Studies have demonstrated that water pressure would have prevented the animal from breathing effectively while submerged and that its feet were too narrow for efficient aquatic use. Furthermore, new studies by Larry Witmer 2001 show that, while the nasal openings in the skull were placed high above the eyes, the nostrils would still have been close to the tip of the snout a study which also lends support to the idea that the tall "crests" of brachiosaurs supported some sort of fleshy resonating chamber.

Popular culture, Biological issues in Jurassic Park, Brachiosaurus is one of the most well-known dinosaurs amongst both paleontologists and the general public. As such, the genus has appeared in many films and television programmes, most notably Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III and Walking with Dinosaurs. It also appeared briefly at the end of Walking With Monsters. A main belt asteroid, 1991 GX7, has been named 9954 Brachiosaurus in honor of the genus.

Brachiosaurus has also made an appearance in several computer games, including Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, Turok: Evolution and for the SEGA consoles. Berlin's B. brancai and Chicago's high flyer
A Brachiosaurus skeleton is mounted in the B Concourse of United Airlines' Terminal One in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, courtesy of the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago. It is a model, not a collection of fossils. A famous specimen of Brachiosaurus brancai mounted in Berlin is one of the largest mounted skeletons in the world. Beginning in 1909, Werner Janensch found many additional B. brancai specimens in Tanzania, Africa, including some nearly complete skeletons.

Wooly Mammoth

Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Subphylum-Vertebrata
Class-Mammalia
Order-Proboscidea
Family-Elephantidae
Genus-Mammuthus

A mammoth is any of a number of an extinct genus of elephant, often with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. Mammoths lived during the Pleistocene epoch from 1.6 million to about 10,000 years ago. The word mammoth comes from the Russian mamont.

Evolutionary History, Mammoth remains have been found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. They are believed to have originally evolved in North Africa about 4.8 million years ago, where bones of Mammuthus africanavus have been found in Chad, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.

Despite their African ancestry, they are in fact more closely related to the modern Asian Elephant than either of the two African elephants. The common ancestor of both mammoths and Asian elephants split from the line of African elephants about 6 to 7.3 million years ago. The Asian elephants and mammoths diverged about half a million years later 5.5 to 6.3 million years ago. In due course the African mammoth migrated north to Europe and gave rise to a new species, the southern mammoth Mammuthus meridionalis. This eventually spread across Europe and Asia and crossed the now-submerged Bering Land Bridge into North America. Around 700,000 years ago, the warm climate of the time deteriorated markedly and the savannah plains of Europe, Asia and North America gave way to colder and less fertile steppes. The southern mammoth consequently declined, being replaced across most of its territory by the cold-adapted steppe mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii.

This in turn gave rise to the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius around 300,000 years ago. Woolly mammoths were better able to cope with the extreme cold of the Ice Ages. The woollies were a spectacularly successful species; they ranged from Spain to North America and are thought to have existed in huge numbers. The Russian researcher Sergei Zimov estimates that during the last Ice Age, parts of Siberia may have had an average population density of sixty animals per hundred square kilometres, equivalent to African elephants today.

Extinction, Most mammoths died out at the end of the last Ice Age. A definitive explanation for their mass extinction is yet to be agreed upon. However, the dwarf mammoths of Wrangel Islandecame extinct only around 1700 to 1500 BC. Whether the general mammoth population died out for climatic reasons or due to overhunting by humans is controversial. Another theory suggests that mammoths may have fallen victim to an infectious disease. New data derived from studies done on living elephants and reported by the American Institute of Biological Sciences suggests that though human hunting may not have been the primary cause toward the mammoth's final extinction, human hunting was likely a strong contributing factor. Homo erectus is known to have consumed mammoth meat as early as 1.8 million years ago. However, the American Institute of Biological Sciences also notes that bones of dead elephants, left on the ground and subsequently trampled by other elephants, tend to bear marks resembling butchery marks, which have previously been misinterpreted as such by archaeologists. The survival of the dwarf mammoths on Russia's Wrangel Island was due to the fact that the island was very remote, and uninhabited in the early post-Pleistocene period.  The actual island was not discovered by modern civilization until the 1820s by American whalers. A similar dwarfing occurred with Mammoths on the outer Channel Islands of California, but at an earlier period. Those animals were very likely killed by early Paleo-Native Americans.

Mammoths and Cryptozoology, There have been occasional claims that the mammoth is not actually extinct, and that small isolated herds might survive in the vast and sparsely inhabited tundra of the northern hemisphere. In the late 19th century, there were according to Bengt Sjögren 1962 persistent rumours about surviving mammoths hiding in Alaska. In October 1899, a man named Henry Tukeman said to have killed a mammoth in Alaska, and donated the specimen to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. But the museum in question denied the existence of any mammoth corpse, and it turned out to be a hoax. Sjogren 1962 believes the myth got started when the American biologist C.H. Townsend traveled in Alaska, saw Eskimos trading mammoth tusks, asked if there still were living mammoths in Alaska and provided them with a drawing of the animal. In the 19th century, several reports of "large shaggy beasts" were passed on to the Russian authorities by Siberian tribesman, but no scientific proof ever surfaced. A French charge d´affaires working in Vladivostok, M. Gallon, claimed in 1946 that in 1920 he met a Russian fur-trapper that claimed to have seen living giant, furry "elephants" deep into the taiga. Gallon added that the fur-trapper didn't even know about mammoths before, and that he talked about the mammoths as a forest-animal at a time when they were seen as living on the tundra and snow Sjogren, 1962. There was an alleged Soviet Air Force sighting during World War II, but this was not verified by a second sighting.

Size, It is a common misconception that mammoths were much larger than modern elephants, an error that has led to "mammoth" being used as an adjective meaning "very big". Certainly, the largest known species, the Imperial Mammoth of California, reached heights of at least 4 meters 13 feet at the shoulder. Mammoths would probably weigh in the region of 6 to 8 tons. However, most species of mammoth were only about as large as a modern Asian Elephant, and fossils of a species of dwarf mammoth have been found on Wrangel Island off the east coast of Siberia as well as the Californian channel islands M. exilis and some Mediterranean islands.

Adaptations, Mammoths had a number of adaptations to the cold, most famously the thick layer of shaggy hair, up to 50 cm 20 in long, for which the woolly mammoth is named. They also had far smaller ears than modern elephants; the largest mammoth ear found so far was only a foot 30 cm long, compared to six feet 1.8 m for an African elephant. They had a flap of hairy skin which covered the anus, keeping out the cold. Their teeth were also adapted to their diet of coarse tundra grasses, with more plates and a higher crown than their southern relatives. Their skin was no thicker than that of present-day elephants, but unlike elephants they had numerous sebaceous glands in their skin which secreted greasy fat into their hair, improving its insulating qualities. They had a layer of fat up to 8 cm 3 in thick under the skin which, like the blubber of whales, helped to keep them warm.  Mammoths had extremely long tusks, up to 16 feet 5 m long which were markedly curved, to a much greater extent than those of elep,hants. It is not clear whether the tusks were a specific adaptation to their environment, but it has been suggested that mammoths may have used their tusks as shovels to clear snow from the ground and reach the vegetation buried below.

Preserved remains, genetic evidence Preserved frozen remains of woolly mammoths have been found in the northern parts of Siberia. This is a rare occurrence, essentially requiring the animal to have been buried rapidly in liquid or semi-solids such as silt, mud and icy water which then froze. This may have occurred in a number of ways. Mammoths may have been trapped in bogs or quicksands and either died of starvation or exposure, or drowning if they sank under the surface. They may have fallen through frozen ice into small ponds or potholes, entombing them. Many are certainly known to have been killed in rivers, perhaps through being swept away by river floods; in one location, by the Berelekh River in Yakutia in Siberia, more than 9,000 bones from at least 156 individual mammoths have been found in a single spot, apparently having been swept there by the current.

To date, thirty-nine preserved bodies have been found, but only four of them are complete. In most cases the flesh shows signs of decay before its freezing and later desiccation. Stories abound about frozen mammoth corpses that were still edible once defrosted, but the original sources e.g. William R. Farrand's article in Science 133 March 17, 1961: 729-735 indicate that the corpses were in fact terribly decayed, and the stench so unbearable that only the dogs accompanying the finders showed any interest in the flesh. In addition to frozen corpses, large amounts of mammoth ivory have been found in Siberia. Mammoth tusks have been articles of trade for at least 2,000 years. They have been and are still a highly prized commodity. Guyuk, the 13th century Khan of the Mongols, is reputed to have sat on a throne made from mammoth ivory, and even today it is in great demand as a replacement for the now-banned export of elephant ivory. Since there is a known case in which an Indian elephant and an African elephant have produced a live though sickly offspring, it has been theorised that if mammoths were still alive today, they would be able to interbreed with Indian elephants. This has led to the idea that perhaps a mammoth-like beast could be recreated by taking genetic material from a frozen mammoth and combining it with that from a modern Indian elephant. Scientists hope to retrieve the preserved reproductive organs of a frozen mammoth and revive its sperm cells. However, not enough genetic material has been found in frozen mammoths for this to be attempted. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Mammuthus primagenius has been determined, however J. Krause et al, Nature 439,724-727, 9 Feb 2006. The analysis demonstrates that the divergence of mammoth, African elephant, and Asian elephant occurred over a short time, and confirmed that the mammoth was more closely related to the Asian than to the African elephant. As an important landmark in this direction, in December 2005, a team of German, UK & American researchers were able to assemble a complete mitochondrial DNA of the mammoth, which allowed them to trace the close evolutionary relationship between mammoths and the Asian elephant. African elephants branched away from the woolly mammoth around 6 million years ago, a moment in time intriguingly close to that of the similar split between gorillas, chimps and humans.

Origins of the name, The name "mammoth" comes via Russian from the Tatar language. It may have its origins in the Tatar word mamma, "earth", alluding to the long-held belief that mammoths lived underground and made burrows. The 17th century traveler Eberhard Ysbrant Ides recorded that the Evenk, Yakut and Ostyak peoples of Siberia believed that the mammoths "continually, or at least by reason of the very hard frosts, mostly live under ground, where they go backwards and forwards." Exposure to the air was enough to kill them, explaining why they were never seen alive.

Barbaro

They Went too far with Barbaro is what i will say. They should have given him at least 1 full year to recover, but those fools refused, and Raced him till his death, which all mean they should of thought about Barbaro not the money to race! I Love You Barbaro, ooooh how much you suffer'd. Let's Make Sure these trainers Treat Barbaro's Brother Rightiously in 2008 & into the future!

~+~SincerelY~+~

-*-The Dark Witch Cheryle-*-

Barbaro's Full Brother

Barbaro’s brother may begin racing in 2008 as a 2 year old.

Still, there will always be something special about this brown colt. As yet unnamed, This Colt is A son of the sire Dynaformer and the dam La Ville Rouge. That makes him Barbaro’s full brother, the only full brother that he had. It is an association that will follow this yearling as he grows up. “There was a time when we thought about selling him,” Gretchen Jackson said of the yearling, which she owns with her husband, Roy, just as they owned Barbaro. “We could never do that now. There are going to be a lot of emotions tied up in him.”

He was the type of thoroughbred that comes along once in a great while, with a rare combination of speed, stamina, talent & desire. Now comes his Young brother, an unproven and untested 10½-month-old, and with him. But the early indications are all positive, said his handlers at Mill Ridge Farm, where he was born and will remain until September, when he will be sent to Florida to begin more serious preparations for a racing career. Conformation, a horse’s physical alignment, is an early indicator. For instance, a horse born with a crooked knee is unlikely to be successful on the racetrack. Barbaro’s brother has no such problems. He also has the type of attitude that could translate into success on the racetrack. “He’s easy to handle and has a good personality,” said Donnie Snellings, the manager of yearlings and stallions at Mill Ridge. “He’s tough enough with the other horses in the field, which shows you that he has a competitive drive.”

 Meanwhile, La Ville Rouge and Dynaformer have produced another full brother to Barbaro who is set to be born in mid-April. After delivering that foal, La Ville Rouge, will again be bred to Dynaformer, who is 22 and does not have too many years left as a stallion. That this all will ultimately mean for the sport of horse racing is anyone’s guess. Breeding is an inexact science and the results of even the most carefully planned matings can be wildly unpredictable. There are very few examples of sets of full siblings becoming major stars on the racetrack. Seabiscuit had two full brothers, one named Naval Reserve, the other named Sea Base. They combined to earn a meager $10,470 during their racing careers. “The record books show that lightning can strike twice in the same place, but perhaps not nearly as often as you might expect,” said Andrew Caulfield, a breeding consultant to Juddmonte Farms. “Think of it in human terms: How many brothers or sisters are carbon copies of each other? The odds of hitting the genetic jackpot more than once are certainly loaded against the breeder. Of course, that doesn’t rule out a very bright future for Barbaro’s brother, but will he have inherited the full range of qualities, including the courage and will to win, which made Barbaro so special.” That is a question that will not be answered until he makes his first start, as a 2-year-old, perhaps in the summer or fall of 2008. “The expectations are going to be high for him,” said Bayne Welker, Mill Ridge’s director of sales. “Barbaro has set a very high bar.” Because Barbaro was born and raised at Springmint Farm in Nicholasville, Kentuky, Welker has no way to compare him and his brother as yearlings. But maybe John Stevens will be able to do so, because Barbaro’s brother will be sent to his farm in Ocala, Florida. There the colt will be taught to be ridden with a saddle on. Stevens was Barbaro’s instructor, too, so he should be able to make some comparisons. By early 2008, Barbaro’s brother will be sent to a trainer. No decision has been made yet as to who that will be, but Gretchen Jackson said it would likely be Michael Matz, the trainer of Barbaro. By then, the brother will have a name. Barbaro’s name came from a painting the Jacksons own. In it, six foxhounds are pictured and each one is named, including one named Barbaro. Gretchen Jackson said the brother will most likely be named after one of the other five foxhounds. Those wishing for a derivative of Barbaro’s name will apparently be disappointed. And those hoping the brother will win the Kentucky Derby should be realistic. The Jockey Club estimates that 34,200 thoroughbreds were born in the United States in 2006, making the odds astronomical that Barbaro’s brother will be the one among that vast group who captures the Derby on the first Saturday in May 2009. Then again, you never know. “It’s a miracle that we had one horse as good as Barbaro, and he gave us memories that we’re going to hold on to for a lifetime,” Gretchen Jackson said. “It’s hard to believe that it could ever happen again. As far as this foal is concerned, I can only hope that he has a great racing career, too. I just hope he gets his chance and does what he was born to do."

Man o'War

There is very little one can say about Man o'War which has not already been said, but it would be unconscionable to remain silent in regards to the most beloved figure in American racing history. Man o'War was the second foal of his dam, the first having been a full sister named Masda. Masda was a stakes winner but is probably more important as the third dam of Triple Crown winner, Assault. Man o'War's dam, Mahubah was sometimes referred to as "Fair Play's wife" as she produced foals only. Man o'War was born a few minutes before midnight, on d imposing presence earned him the nickname "Big Red." When his trainer, Louis Reustel, first laid eyes on him as a yearling, he described him as "very tall, gangly and thin. So leggy as to give the same impression one gets when seeing a week-old foal." Perhaps not the powerhouse as a yearling that he would be later in life, he sold at Saratoga's yearling sale in August 1918 for $5000.

Man o'War debuted at Belmont Park on June 6th, 1919, in a purse race against six other contenders. He won easily by 6 lengths. Three days later, he stepped up to stakes company and dusted five others in the Keene Memorial Stakes. Rested for eleven days, he reappeared to win the Youthful Stakes at Jamaica Park. Then, two days after that, was showed up at Aqeduct where he was entered in the Hudson Stakes. With only three races to his record to this point, he was already attracting great weights. For the Hudson, he carried 130 lbs unheard of these days in the juvenile ranks. Conceding lumps of weight to his competition, he stretched out easily and won unchallenged. Violet Tip finished 2nd, 1 1/2 lengths away, but was receiving 21 lbs in the bargain. Another break of 12 days, and he was back with 130 lbs to steal the Tremont Stakes from two competitors. From here he travelled upstate to Saratoga and conceded weight all around to win the United States Hotel Stakes, defeating Upset by a length while carrying 15 lbs greater weight. Eleven days later, on August 13, 1919, came a race they are STILL talking about, and one which undoubtably earned Saratoga its nickname as "the house of upsets" and the "graveyard of favorites". This was the Sanford Memorial. Chief opposition was to come from Golden Broom, at level weights. Upset was not considered much of a threat - Man o'War had already beaten him in their last meeting, although Upset would again carry 15 lbs less.

These were the days before starting gates, and the group circled, approached the starting line as a team, and were released by signal of the starter's flag. On this day, Man o'War was still circling when the flag fell, and was in fact, not even yet facing the right direction. It was a horrible for him - the group was gone before he got himself righted, placing him at a distinct disadvantage in this 6 furlong race. He shot straight away after them, and very soon had passed Captain Alcock, The Swimmer and Armistice. Assuming the rail would be the shortest route, jockey Loftus steered Big Red to the rail and aimed for the leader, Golden Broom. Upset was challenging for the lead, and Donnacona was starting to fade. Unfortunately, Donnacona was on the rail also, and Man o'War was forced to check go to the outside to continue his run. The 130 lbs was beginning to tell on Golden Broom, and he relinquished the lead to the courageous Upset. Man o'War continued to close resolutely, but ran out of track with a half length to go. It was an unfair start, and Man o'War was boxed into a hopeless position during the running. Despite the injustice, Man o'War was heaped with glory for a superhuman effort in defeat. Everyone at Saratoga that day knew the best horse had not won. Upset would face Man o'War a total of six times in their careers, and would lose all the other meetings, but his single victory, a feat no other horse could claim, was enough to immortalize him.

Ten days later Man o'War avenged his loss with a triumph in the Grand Union Hotel Stakes. Upset was relegated to his more familiar second-place position. A week later, maaking his fourth Saratoga start, he put on an exhibition of his family's bad habits, holding up the start of the Hopeful Stakes by a full 12 minutes. Once the race was underway, however, he was all business and swept to a four length victory over the filly Cleopatra. Although it was Upset who once defeated the champ, there was only one horse who could run with Man o'War, and that was John P Grier, a son of Whisk Broom II. The two met for the first time at Belmont for the Futurity Stakes. The field also boasted a stellar cast of supporting players - Dominique, Cleopatra, Upset, On Watch, Paul Jones, etc. John P Grier was not yet matured to his potential and Man o'War passed him easily to beat him into second place. Man o'War himself was not done growing. At Saratoga he was a scrawny kid of 970 lbs. At Belmont, he was up to 1,020. By the time he debuted as a three-yr-old he tipped the scale at 1,150 lbs. He did not run in the Kentucky Derby. Owner Sam Riddle did not like racing in Kentucky, nor did he think 3-yr-olds were ready to go 10 furlongs as early as May. He would change his mind by the time War Admiral came around. Man o'War stayed in the east, and prepared for the Preakness. Without Man o'War, the Kentucky Derby drew a large field of 17 entrants. It was won by Paul Jones who held off Upset by just a head. The Preakness came 10 days later, and several in the Derby field ventured on to face Man o'War. The champ assumed the lead soon after the start, set a terrific pace, and soon killed off the attempt of King Thrush to pace him. Man o'War cruised by a comfortable 4 length margin on the turn, and had plenty in reserve to fend off Upset in the homestretch. Man o'War won by 1 1/2 lengths from Upset and Wildair. Donnacona ran fifth, and might have done better but was cut off at the start.

Man o'War ran next in the Withers and somehow managed to be assigned a feathery impost of 118 lbs in a three horse field. He defeated Wildair by 2 lengths and set a new American record for the mile in 1:35 4/5. Next came the Belmont Stakes where only Donnacona accepted the challenge. Donnacona thus became only the 3rd horse in history to run in all three Triple Crown events. Before him were War Cloud 1918 and Sir Barton 1919. At level weights, Man o'War drew off from Donnacona to win by 20 lengths. In doing so, he set another American record - 1 3/8th miles in 2:14 1/5, which bettered Sir Barton's old mark by over three full seconds. Ten days later, he faced one challenger in the Stuyvesant Handicap, and although carrying 32 lbs more than his rival Yellowhand, his betting odds were at the microscopic price of 1-to-100, meaning you'd have to wager $100 to earn back $101. Man o'War left no one wondering. He bounded out to an almost immediate 5 length margin and stretched it to 8 lengths at the wire.

Next came the Dwyer Stakes at Aqueduct. Only John P Grier opposed him. They went head to head for almost a mile, then Man o'War drew off to win by a length and a half. Grier was no cart horse. In a year when Man o'War was gobbling up stakes races anywhere and everywhere he pleased, John P Grier will managed to score some impressive stakes victories of his own. Considered by most to be the second best colt of that generation, Grier (unlike Upset) had the good sense not to go running around in Man o'War's shadow all the time. Perhaps it is a testament to John P Grier's quality that he finished only a 1 1/2 lengths behind Man o'War in the Dwyer, after running with him for so long. Man o'War's time of 1:49 1/5 in the Dwyer set another American record. He ventured back to Saratoga and won the Miller Stakes and Travers Stakes. In the latter, he faced old rivals Upset and John P Grier once again. Man o'War put in a great race, winning by 2 1/2 lengths. Grier put in an uncommonly bad race and finished 3rd behind Upset. Big Red returned to Belmont for the Lawrence Realization, but by this time, no one had mucch interest in running their horses against him. Only Hoodwink came forward to meet him in this event, and he was openly racing for the second-place purse money. Knowing there would be no real challenge, Feustel set Man o'War against the clock. The old time record, 2:45 flat, for the mile and five eights, would be his competition. Poor little Hoodwink, who was clearly not in the same league, was not persevered with, while Man o'War stormed away, out of sight, and won by an estimated 100 lengths, in a new American time of 2:40 4/5. The following week, he set another American record, 2:28 4/5 for the 1 1/2 mile Jockey Club Stakes. He then won the Potomac Handicap defeating Wildair, Blazes, and Derby winner Paul Jones. That was the largest field he had faced in months! But he had struck himself in this race, and he started to bow a tendon. The leg began to cause him some trouble, but Feustel kept him fit for one more race.

The final start of Man o'War's career came in Canada, in the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup. For this 1 1/4 mile event, he was pitted against Sir Barton who was having a fabulous handicap year. This time it was Sir Barton who was high-weighted. Man o'War got in with 120, against Sir Barton's 126. Man o'War drew off to win easily by 7 lengths, but it was discovered afterward that Sir Barton was suffering from sore feet. Following the race, a good numbers of rumours and ill-will were flying. Willis Sharpe Kilmer had been offended because Exterminator had not been invited to participate. Moments before the race jockey Earle Sande was removed from Sir Barton, and Frank Keogh was substituted. Feustel said he found after the race that Man o'War's stirrup leather had been cut, but the job had been done badly and the leather held. Matt Winn offered a $50,000 special versus Exterminator, but it was declined. An offer came from England, but it too was declined. Man o'War was shipped back Glen Riddle farm for the winter. He arrived in Lexington on January 27, 1921 and was ridden under silks before a huge crowd the following day at the Lexington Association track. While it is true that our greatest horse never raced in Kentucky, he DID set foot on a Kentucky racetrack. Man o'War stood his first stud season at Hinata Farm, then the following year moved to Faraway Farm where he joined an old acquaintance Golden Broom. His groom at Faraway was Will Harbut who came to be closely associated with the horse. Harbut gladly showed the stallion to farm visitors and spoke at length of Man o'War's victories. Before long, Harbut's words were picked up through national magazines, and the whole country was quoting his now famous phrase "He wuz de mostest hoss.. "

Man o'War was an outstanding sire, and might have been even better if Riddle had offered more than a handful of public seasons each year. Some of his famous offspring are WAR ADMIRAL, CRUSADER, AMERICAN FLAG, BATEAU, MARS, MAID AT ARMS, CLYDE VAN DUSEN, WAR RELIC, and BATTLESHIP who won the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree England even though they said he was too small to be a good jumper. One of his famous grandsons was SEABISCUIT. Man o'War died quietly on November 1, 1947 at the age of 30. He was embalmed and lay in state for three days while his final resting place was prepared in a portion of his old paddock. He was lowered into a moated enclosure, beneath a green marble pedestal from which rose Herbert Hazeltine's heroic bronze statue of the champion. Man o'War was eventually moved to the Kentucky Horse Park, where the original burial site was faithfully recreated. More than 50 years after his death, he still attracts thousands of visitors anually. And they still consider him to be the "mostest hoss."

SeaBiscuit

Hard Tack was certainly bred like a champion. His dam, Tea Biscuit, was sired by the great Rock Sand, who won the English Triple Crown and was one of the top sires in the country. His second dam, Tea's Over, produced the champion Ort Wells and the good mare Toggery, who produced several stakes winners. Tea's Over was by the great Hanover. Hard Tack was sired by the immortal Man o' War himself. Yet due to a difficult temperament, Hard Tack was only a modest stakes winner, earning a mere $16,820 before bowing a tendon. In 1933 his book included only a handful of mares, including the well bred but poorly made broodmare Swing On, who had also done nothing to distinguish herself on the racetrack. Only her pedigree made her worth breeding at all. A daughter of the great Whisk Broom II, she was from the same female family as two-time Horse of the Year Equipose, then at the height of his career. Equipose was out of Swinging. Swing On was out of Balance. Both were out of Balancoire II. Swing On was later the third dam of Kentucky Derby winner Determine. On May 23, 1933, Swing On had a bay colt by Hard Tack who was later named Seabiscuit. He grew up on Claiborne Farm, with his age mates including Flares, Snark, Tintagel, Forever Yours, and Granville. Snark and Seabiscuit were among the horses bred by Mrs. Gladys Phipps' Wheatley Stable, and when she came to inspect her yearlings in April of 1934, Bull Hancock had Seabiscuit hidden away, knowing she wouldn't be impressed. He was undersized, knobby, and refused to shed his winter coat. Twenty one years later Bull Hancock hid another yearling from Mrs. Phipps. That was the accident prone Bold Ruler. The great trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons had trained both Hard Tack and Swing On, and he hadn't been fond of either of them. He therefore could hardly be expected to get excited about their undersized son, especially when he came fully equipped with all the conformation faults of his dam, a dangerously sprung knee, and a good dose of his sire's willfulness. The colt, nicknamed the Runt, did nothing to gain Sunny Jim's respect. The two had a personality clash that was never overcome, and with horses like Omaha, Granville, and Faireno in the stable, the trainer wasn't inclined to go out of his way to pamper what he saw as a claimer with an attitude problem. He worked the colt hard, and was said to have instructed his exercise riders not to spare the whip. Fitzsimmons pawned Seabiscuit off on assistant trainer V. Mara, who took him to Florida for the winter. Seabiscuit made his first start at Hialeah on January 19, 1935, and ran fourth. He ran again three days later. The trainer didn't expect victory. He was just trying to get the colt off his hands, sending him to post in a twenty-five hundred dollar claiming race. Seabiscuit closed well to earn second money, but wasn't claimed. He raced again at that price, and was sixth. He faced the starter for the fifth time on March 8, and ran fourth. He then joined assistant trainer G. Tappen in Maryland. There, Seabiscuit ran another five times in a span of twenty one days, but did no better than a second and two thirds. The son of Hard Tack then rejoined Sunny Jim's main string. On the first of May Seabiscuit ran second in an allowance race at Jamaica. Three days later he ran again, this time well out of the money. He improved a tiny bit at Rockingham, hitting the board twice in three starts, and was sent against stakes company.

Still a maiden, Seabiscuit turned in a good effort to run third in the Juvenile Handicap, and was second three days later in a maiden special weight. He finally scored his first win on June 22, 1935, winning an allowance race by two lengths at Rockingham Park. His time of 1:00 3/5 equaled the track record for five furlongs. Four days later Seabiscuit took the Watch Hill Claiming Stakes by two lengths in :59 3/5, breaking the track record in the process, but the winning form didn't last. The little bay only managed to place once in his next five starts, running second in an allowance race at Suffolk Downs. At the end of September Seabiscuit was sixth behind future Kentucky Derby winner Bold Venture in an allowance race at Saratoga, was sixth again in the Babylon Handicap at Aqueduct, and two days later was third in the slop. He finally got to the winner's circle again after winning an allowance race, then ran fourth in the Eastern Shore Handicap. A week later he was a well beaten ninth in the Remsen Handicap, and fared no better in the Constitution Stakes, finishing tenth. Given two weeks off, Seabiscuit won the Springfield Handicap at Agawam in track record time, then won the Ardsley Handicap at Empire City by three lengths, again setting a new record. He was second in the Pawtucket Handicap, and finished off the board in the Walden Handicap, coming home a bit lame and thus ending the season.  Seabiscuit had run thirty five times as a juvenile, winning five times, running second seven times, and earning $12,510. Three-year-old Omaha had run nine times, winning six races and $142,255. His Kentucky Derby victory alone netted $39,525. As for Seabiscuit's former companions in the fields of Claiborne Farm, Tintagel had been sold to Marshall Field, and was named Champion Juvenile Colt. Forever Yours earned honors as the Champion Juvenile Filly for Mrs. Ethel V. Mars. Both had been bred by Bull Hancock himself. Belair Stud's Granville had won once in seven starts, but was destined for better things. Snark, too, had some glory in his future, and Flares went to England, where he avenged his full brother Omaha's defeat in the Ascot Gold Cup. Seabiscuit was to top them all, but he still had some hard days ahead of him. He was used as a work horse for Granville. Legend has it that he remembered the colt from their days on Claiborne Farm, and actively tried to beat him in their trials. Horses have been known to do stranger things than that, and it seems that Seabiscuit did run harder in his works with Granville than he did when galloping alone. Whether he nursed an active grudge or simply liked the company can't be proven. The cranky disposition that Seabiscuit developed that winter was sometimes attributed to the fact that he was never allowed to win the matches with the Gallant Fox colt. The cause could have simply been pain in his inflamed knee, or a lack of recreation, but regardless of the cause, Seabiscuit became a stall walker, losing weight and condition. The habit didn't do his bad knee much good, either.

Seabiscuit began his sophomore campaign at Jamaica, running second and third in the space of five days. After a pair of fourths, he won an allowance race at Narragansett. Granville, in the meantime, lost his rider in the Kentucky Derby, then lost the Preakness in a photo finish. Seabiscuit was badly outrun in the New Hampshire Handicap, sixth in an overnight handicap, and tenth in the Commonwealth Handicap before scoring again, this time in an allowance race at Suffolk Downs. He was fourth in the Miles Standish Handicap, then scored a six length win in the Mohawk Claiming Stakes. A week later he won an overnight handicap by four lengths. It was to be his last race in the Wheatley colors. Silent Tom Smith had taken an interest in the bay son of Hard Tack, and bought him on behalf of Charles S. Howard for the sum of $7,500. Buying Seabiscuit was the turning point in Tom Smith's career. Once Seabiscuit began winning, he added to his employers growing stable. Coramine, Mioland, and Kayak II all won a number of important stakes for Silent Tom Smith, who even lasted a few years at Mrs. Elizabeth Arden Graham's Maine Chance Farm, winning the Kentucky Derby with Jet Pilot and handling the champions Beaugay, Myrtle Charm, and Star Pilot during portions of their careers. The first thing Tom Smith did for Seabiscuit was provide him with a social life. He first tried putting a goat in the stall, but when the creature got between Seabiscuit and his dinner, the horse picked it up by the neck and set it firmly outside the door. So instead, the trainer put Pumpkin, the stable pony, in with Seabiscuit. Through the rest of his career, Seabiscuit either roomed with Pumpkin, or was put in the stall next door, and Silent Tom would cut a hole in the wall so the two horses could visit. The trainer also devised a knee and ankle brace for Seabiscuit to wear in the stall, and kept the horse rather creatively bandaged. The horse's crankiness faded with time. The story was that the first time Silent Tom worked his new charge, he rode the horse himself and Seabiscuit ran away with him. The horse only stopped when he realized his rider wasn't making any attempt to slow him down. Red Pollard, a former boxer who had won only three stakes races in his entire career, became Seabiscuit's new regular rider, and the pair took a shine to each other immediately. Seabiscuit next raced in Detroit, running in the Motor City Handicap, and ran fourth to Myrtlewood, that season's champion handicap mare. She was to become the second dam of the champion filly Myrtle Charm, who was to be the third dam of Seattle Slew. Next came an overnight handicap, and Seabiscuit ran into bad racing luck but still got up for third. Then he won the Governor's Handicap, beating Professor Paul, who had been third in the Motor City Handicap, by a neck. After running out of the money in the De La Salle Handicap, Seabiscuit ran one more time in Detroit, winning the Hendrie handicap by four lengths. Then it was on to River Downs in Ohio.