Man o' War's shoes

They came in the Jazz Age to see the noble Man o’ War

During the Depression people cheered their great Seabiscuit

Rock and revolution were at the track to greet Secretariat

Now this twittering age bids farewell to our mare Zenyatta

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She has stepped into the gate for the very last time

Calm as a mouse yet larger than life

For me, those ears are her secret pride

slightly tilted and off to the side

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It is all now a haze in the mind’s fluxuations

Coming down to the wire with Blame eye to eye

What a mean little difference not seeing her stomping dance

Led away from the stage of our games of chance

Led away from the stagX

Her losing a race makes little difference to me

She has come back to the shed row healthy and spry

But cruel November has left us quite cold

Now that Zenyatta has stepped from the racing fold

Zenyatta winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic

Man-o' War's-Shoes

We were out to Belmont Park see the Grade I Man o’ War stakes this weekend . That got me thinking about the etymological “controversy” surrounding the sports term Upset. The great Man o’ War lost only one race in his illustrious career: the 1919 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga  to a horse called Upset

The theory goes that the sports phrase “It’s an Upset” comes directly from that running of the Sanford.

But there are many word sleuths who believe “upset” was being used in sports long before the underdog Upset beat the heavily favored Man ‘o War.
Some references to the the earlier use of “upset” are here:
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=2435

To the best of my  knowledge the term was in use before 1919 but it became more prevalent after Upset’s victory over Man o’ War