Press release provided by Phoenix Rising of Lexington
The famous racehorse Man O' War and his caretaker Will Harbut graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1941
Celebrating the great race horse Man o’ War and honoring two of his African American grooms will be the centerpiece of this year’s Phoenix Festival, which will take place Thursday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden on East Third Street. The event is free and open to the public.
In keeping with its mission to preserve the stories of black horsemen, Phoenix Rising of Lexington will recognize Will Harbut and Cunningham Graves, both of whom were grooms to the legendary Thoroughbred Man o’ War, who is widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Man o’ War was born in 1917 and is the subject of a yearlong centennial celebration in Lexington.
“It’s not often that horse grooms are recognized but we are doing so to show the breadth and depth of African Americans in the horseracing industry,” said Marsha Bloxsom, a Phoenix Rising member and chair of the festival. “When we think of Black horsemen, we often think of jockeys like Isaac Murphy and Oliver Lewis. But given that this is Man o’ War’s 100th birthday, we wanted to use this opportunity to show that Black horsemen continued to play a significant role long after the great Black jockeys had disappeared.”
Will Harbut’s name is synonymous with Man o’ War. He was the stallion’s primary caregiver at Faraway Farm from 1930-1946. A photo of Harbut and Man o’ War graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1941. Graves succeeded Harbut in 1946 and has the distinction of holding the reins in the last photograph taken of Man o’ War on Oct. 29, 1947, three days before the horse’s death at age 30. Though both Harbut and Graves are now deceased, they still have family members in the Lexington area. Both families will be recognized and given a memento at the festival.
The festival will also feature live music, a tribute to the Kentucky Association race track and recognition of 95-year-old Elias “Shug” White, who worked at the track as a young boy. There also will be an opportunity for children to create art under the direction of Josh Nadzam, founder of On the Move Art Studio. Even the refreshments served at the festival will have an equine theme.
Phoenix Rising Lexington takes its name from the Phoenix Stakes, which originated at the Kentucky Association track in 1831 and is the oldest Thoroughbred stakes race in America. On Friday, Oct. 6, the day after the festival, the 165th running of the Phoenix Stakes will take place at Keeneland on the opening day of the fall race meeting.
During his racing career just after World War I, Man o’ War won 20 of 21 races. He was the unofficial 1920 American Horse of the Year and was honored with Babe Ruth as the outstanding athlete of the year by The New York Times. Upon his death, he was originally buried at Faraway Farm in Fayette County but in the early 1970s, his remains were moved to a new burial site at the Kentucky Horse Park where his grave is marked with a majestic bronze statue.
To learn more about Man o’ War, visit the Keeneland Library’s virtual exhibit gallery at http://keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/exhibits/show/manowar.