2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes Winner
February 20th - War Emblem
I guess I could tell the story of how he won the Illinois Derby and was bought by Prince Solmon of Saudi Arabia, and then raced next in the Kentucky Derby at huge odds and won.
He lived his final years at Old Friends in Georgetown, KY. This might be a good time to hint at something in the near future that will raise a little money for Old Friends. Stay tuned friends.
War Emblem is one of the most fascinating Triple Crown stories of the modern era, a colt who was sold just three weeks before the Kentucky Derby and almost gave his new owner the sport's greatest prize. He was foaled in 1999, a son of the stallion Our Emblem out of the mare Sweetest Lady. He had begun his career under trainer Frank Springer for owner Russell Reineman, capturing the Illinois Derby in convincing style during the spring of 2002. That win caught the eye of Prince Ahmed bin Salman of The Thoroughbred Corporation.
The Saudi prince bought a majority interest in the colt for around $900,000 and turned him over to Bob Baffert with just enough time to point him at Churchill Downs. War Emblem repaid the gamble immediately. Going off at 20 to 1 in the 2002 Kentucky Derby, he sprung from the gate, took the lead, and never gave it back. With Victor Espinoza in the saddle, he wired the field for a stunning Derby victory. Two weeks later he did the same thing at Pimlico, leading every step to win the Preakness Stakes as well.
The Triple Crown was on the line at Belmont Park, and the country watched. But War Emblem stumbled badly at the start of the 2002 Belmont Stakes, lurching to his knees as the gate opened. He never recovered his rhythm and finished a tired eighth as Sarava pulled the upset at 70 to 1. War Emblem came back later that summer to win the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, but a foot injury ended his career soon after. He still earned the 2002 Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-Old Male.
War Emblem retired to stud in Japan, where his post racing career took an unusual turn. The colt showed almost no interest in covering mares, frustrating his Japanese handlers for years and producing only small foal crops. He sired a few group winners but never came close to fulfilling his stallion potential. He was eventually returned to the United States and lived out his retirement at Old Friends Equine in Kentucky, where he passed away in 2020. War Emblem is remembered as a brilliant front runner whose Triple Crown bid ended at the gate, and as one of the most interesting characters ever to win two legs of the classics.
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