T
hose birthdays we celebrate with a
zero on the end always have special
significance. But two zeroes? That's
the stuff of legends, and it is befit-
ting that this year's centennial of
Man o' War's foaling date (March 29) will be cere-
monialized in Kentucky with a 2017-long series of
events honoring the horse whose reverential sta-
tus as "Lexington's first citizen" helped define a
Thoroughbred-centric way of life in the Bluegrass
region.
Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) and the International
Museum of the Horse (IMH) are organizing the ex-
tended 100th birthday bash around a new exhibit
titled "Man o' War: The Mostest Horse That Ever
Was," which will showcase never-publicly-displayed
artifacts to tell the story of "Big Red's" illustrious
career as a racehorse, stallion, and, until his death
in 1947, a much-beloved Bluegrass ambassador re-
sponsible for attracting millions of visitors while
shaping the region's modern-day version of equine
tourism.
"We took the name of the exhibit from Will Har-
but, the man who took care of him most of his life
here in Kentucky," said IMH director Bill Cooke, ex-
plaining how "mostest horse" is a plain-spoken but
heartfelt descriptor that still resonates today. "There
are so many pieces of history with the Man o' War ex-
hibit that racing fans will be thrilled to see."
There's a mythical, almost mystical, enduring
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