Америкалық татудың чемпионы – Уор Адмирал

American bred Thoroughbred racehorse

War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the "Match Race of the Century" in 1938. War Admiral won 21 of his 26 starts with earnings of $273,240 and was the leading sire in North America for 1945. He was also an outstanding broodmare sire whose influence is still felt today in descendants such as Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify.

War Admiral raced as a homebred for Samuel D. Riddle, who also owned Man o' War. War Admiral was foaled at Faraway Farm in Lexington, the offspring of Man o' War and Brushup. Man o' War was widely regarded as the greatest American racehorse of his time, but Brushup never won a race. They were bred together six times, producing five undistinguished fillies and one Triple Crown winner. or 15.3 he was smaller than Man o' War's height of 16.3 hands. War Admiral's dark brown coat was inherited from his dam, who also contributed to War Admiral's smaller size as she was under 15 hands. Because of his size, one of War Admiral's nicknames was The Mighty Atom. Others referred to him simply as The Admiral. Most sources say that War Admiral also inherited his sire's fiery temperament, War Admiral's regular jockey was Charles Kurtsinger.

As a two year old in 1936, War Admiral won three of six races including the Great American Stakes and Eastern Shore Handicap. However, the star of this crop was then considered to be Pompoon, who defeated War Admiral in the National Stallion Stakes. 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.'" The Preakness Stakes was held just a week later. After again acting up at the start, War Admiral went to the lead early but had trouble negotiating the turns. Pompoon saved ground along the rail and closed alongside War Admiral as they exited the last turn. The two horses dueled down the stretch with War Admiral finally prevailing by a head. On June 5, War Admiral faced six rivals in the Belmont Stakes, going off as the 4 5 favorite. He was particularly fractious at the start, repeatedly breaking through the barrier. After delaying the start for eight minutes, he stumbled leaving the gate. He quickly recovered his stride and won the race by three lengths with "speed to spare". His time of 2:283/5 tied the American Record for 1 1/2 miles, while breaking Man o' War's track record by a fifth of a second. War Admiral thus became the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. But the victory came at a price: War Admiral had struck the quarter of his right front fore foot when stumbling at the gate, which left a gaping wound. During the race, his jockey did not notice that anything was amiss. But when led into the winner's circle, his connections found that his belly and legs were covered with blood. The injury was severe enough to cause War Admiral to miss the summer racing season. He returned in October to win three more races, including the Washington Handicap and the inaugural Pimlico Special.

In 1938, War Admiral won eight major races, including the Whitney Handicap and Jockey Club Gold Cup. He is linked forever with the year older Seabiscuit, who was a grandson of Man o' War and the preeminent horse based in the western U. S. Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, brought his horse across country to give Seabiscuit the chance to prove himself to the eastern racing establishment. Seabiscuit and War Admiral almost faced each other several times that summer but for one reason or another, they never met. Finally, a meeting was arranged for November 1, 1938, in the Pimlico Special in what was billed as The Match Race of the Century. Samuel Riddle asked that the race be run without a starting gate in light of War Admiral's problematic history. With War Admiral's early speed, he was widely seen to have a tactical advantage in a match race and went off as the favorite. However, Seabiscuit's trainer had secretly conditioned his horse to bolt at the sound of a starting bell, which resulted in Seabiscuit getting the all important early lead. Seabiscuit won by four lengths and broke the track record. Major winners sired by War Admiral include champion Blue Peter, Bee Mac, Navy Page, Cold Command, and Admiral Vee. As a sire, War Admiral is perhaps best known for his success with daughters of La Troienne. This cross produced the champion filly and Horse of the Year Busher (ranked #40 in Blood Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U. S. Racehorses of the 20th Century), as well as stakes winners Searching, Busanda and Mr. Busher. Although War Admiral's sire line no longer exists, he remains a significant influence in modern pedigrees due to his daughters. He was the Leading broodmare sire of 1962 and 1964. Descendants in the female line include the likes of Swaps, Buckpasser, and Numbered Account, as well as two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Other descendants of note include Dr. Fager, Alysheba, Cigar and Zenyatta.

War Admiral was elected to the Hall of Fame in the same year as arch rival Seabiscuit.

The 2003 movie Seabiscuit features the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. The film portrays War Admiral at 18 hands even though War Admiral and Seabiscuit were about the same size with Seabiscuit standing at 15.2 hands and outweighing War Admiral