The Man o' War Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and older. It is run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on turf and is scheduled annually for early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The current purse is $700,000. History The event is named in honor of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion Man o' War who was selected as No. 1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. The inaugural running of the event was on 24 October 1959 at the newly reopened Aqueduct Racetrack as the Man o' War Handicap over a distance of miles. The event attracted 23 entrants thus enabling NYRA to run the event as two split divisions with a record total purse of $225,100. The event attracted some of the finest long distance turf horses including British bred Tudor Era who was first past the post in the 1958 Washington D.C. International at Laurel but was disqualified. Tudor Era would win the Second Division of the event as the favorite defeating Marlow Road by 3 lengths with Anisado in third place in a time of 2:41 flat. In 1960 the event was held at Belmont Park with the 37-1 Harmonizing defeating Bald Eagle and the 1959 U.S. Horse of the Year Sword Dancer. Bald Eagle would go on and win the Washington D.C. International and would be crowded U.S. Champion Older Male Horse. The event was moved back Aqueduct in 1961 at a longer distance of one and five-eighths miles with handicap conditions. NYRA by scheduling the event in October established New York as a logical and natural place for international and top US turf runners to prepare for the Washington D.C. International which was considered as the forerunner to the Breeders' Cup Turf and the championship long distance turf race. The 1962 renewal of the event as the Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park was run with Weight for Age conditions. The winner, 20-1 longshot Beau Purple who set a track record of 2:28.60 for the miles in defeating a group of highly talented entrants, including 1961 U.S. Horse of the Year and last winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup Kelso in second, former English based The Axe II in third, who would win this event the following year, Wise Ship