By Rolf Lindgren (Picture from the book by Charlie De Luca)
It was September 4, 1920 at the Belmont Park racetrack. The great racehorse Man o’ War was nearing the end of his legendary career and everyone wanted to see him run. Everyone wanted to make a bet.
There was a huge problem. The slate of horses to run against Man o’ War had dwindled to zero. Every other horse had dropped out. They were all afraid to run against Man o’ War.
Why? Because Man o’ War was considered unbeatable. As a three-year-old he had won every race as an odds-on-favorite.
As a two-year-old he won every race also. Except one. He was upset by Upset. Yes, the horse was called Upset, that’s where the verb “upset” comes from. In that race, Man o’ War was trapped in the starting gate, then was boxed in, and still almost won it. His jockey was put under investigation for fraud.
Man o’ War was so good he often carried heavy weights. Sort of like Rush Limbaugh tying half his brain behind his head, just to make it fair!
So now on September 4, 1920, there was no horse to run against Man o’ War. You need two horses for a horse race. No horse race meant no ticket sales and no gambling. Or as Jim Doyle used to say, no “gaming”!
But at the last minute a challenger was found. Man o’ War was installed as an incredible 1-100 favorite and the show was on!
The race was a dreadful farce. Man o’ War won by an unbelievable 100+ lengths! Most onlookers were appalled by the awful spectacle.
Who was this lousy horse that ran against Man o’ War? His name was Hoodwink. The entire crowd had been hoodwinked!
PS – Many US taxpayers have been hoodwinked by corrupt politicians.
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