George H. Conway

Biography

When he took over as the head trainer for Sam Riddle’s prolific Glen Riddle Farm racing stable in 1926, George Conway was well prepared for the position he was elevated into. Decades spent around horses — beginning in the late 1880s as an exercise rider and later as stable foreman for both Louis Feustel and Gwyn Tompkins in the Riddle operation — gave Conway all the experience he needed to thrive in the high-profile job.

And thrive is exactly what Conway did.

A native of Oceanport, New Jersey, Conway had tremendous success with the 3-year-old colt Crusader during his first year in charge of the Glen Riddle horses. A chestnut son of Man o’ War, Crusader didn’t make his sophomore debut until May 20, 1926. He started out a bit slowly — finishing second in his first two outings — before delivering a breakthrough performance in winning the Suburban Handicap by five lengths. Crusader’s stablemate, the standout American Flag, also trained by Conway, finished second.

Crusader followed his Suburban victory by earning the biggest purse of his career, $48,550, in winning the Belmont Stakes. He added victories in the Dwyer Stakes (setting a track record of 2:29⅗ for 1½ miles), Cincinnati Derby (defeating Preakness winner Display in track-record time of 2:02 for 1¼ miles), Huron Handicap, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Havre de Grace Handicap (defeating older standouts and future Hall of Famers Sarazen and Princess Doreen in equaling the track record of 1:50 for nine furlongs), Maryland Handicap, and Riggs Memorial Handicap (carrying high weight of 130 pounds). Crusader completed his 3-year-old season with a record of 9-4-0 from 15 starts and earnings of $166,033. He was recognized as Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male for his efforts.

As a 4-year-old in 1927, Crusader was unplaced while carrying top weight in his first two starts. He returned to top form while carrying 127 pounds in winning the Suburban again, this time by seven lengths (No horse won consecutive editions of the Suburban until almost 70 years later when Devil His Due accomplished the feat in 1993 and 1994). Crusader also won the Delaware Handicap at Havre de Grace that year. He was retired after his 1928 season with a career record of 18-8-4 from 42 starts and earnings of $203,261. Crusader was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Conway’s immediate success with Crusader was no surprise to those who knew him. He was hired by Feustel in 1917 and was the stable’s foreman during Man o’ War’s years of dominating the sport in 1919 and 1920. He quickly acclimated to his duties and became intimately familiar with all aspects of Riddle’s stable and breeding operation. Conway continued to patiently bide his time and enhance his reputation as a talented horseman when Riddle hired Tompkins to succeed Feustel.

Along with Crusader, Conway trained standouts Speed Boat, War Glory, and War Hero, among others, for the Glen Riddle operation. His notable wins included the Adirondack Stakes (1932), Huron Handicap (1932), Saratoga Cup (1932), Travers Stakes (1932), Walden Handicap (1932), Dwyer Stakes (1933), Kenner Stakes (1933), Lawrence Realization Stakes (1933), Maryland Handicap (1933), Saranac Handicap (1933), Test Stakes (1933), and Pimlico Oaks (1937) among others.

Conway was entrusted with his horse of a lifetime, the mighty War Admiral, in 1936. In his three years with the future Hall of Famer, Conway conditioned the son of Man o’ War to a record of 21-3-1 from 26 starts, including a sweep of the 1937 Triple Crown, and earnings of $273,240.

As a 2-year-old in 1936, War Admiral hinted at his potential with victories in his first two starts at Havre de Grace and Belmont Park, respectively. He later won the Eastern Shore Handicap at Havre de Grace for his first career stakes victory and concluded his juvenile campaign with a record of 3-2-1 from six starts.

War Admiral became a sensation as a sophomore in 1937, winning all eight of his starts, including a sweep of the Triple Crown, the fourth horse to achieve the feat. After beginning his season with wins in an allowance and the Chesapeake Stakes a Havre de Grace, War Admiral took the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in succession.

The Belmont provided plenty of nervous moments for Conway. War Admiral detested the starting gate, and his antics delayed the race for about eight minutes. He dragged a bewildered assistant starter through the starting gate several times before he was eventually settled. When the gate finally opened for the race, War Admiral was off balance, stumbled and cut away a section of the wall of his right forefoot.

The Belmont was shaping up to be a disaster for War Admiral. He had expended a great amount of energy before the race and now his legs and belly were saturated with blood from his misstep out of the gate. Every excuse to run a clunker was present, but instead, War Admiral delivered a virtuoso performance, rocketing to a three-length victory. He covered the 1½-mile distance in 2:28⅗, equaling the American record for the distance and breaking his sire’s track record by one-fifth of a second, which was set 17 years earlier in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

War Admiral’s Belmont victory was a heroic performance, but it came at a price.

“I don’t see how he can be brought back to the races before fall, and even that is doubtful. Time will prove the best healer, though we have to look out for infection, made doubly dangerous by the fact he raced the entire distance with the open wound,” Conway said in the aftermath. “He’s eligible for three stakes at Saratoga, including the Travers and Saratoga Cup, but it’ll take a miracle for him to be in condition. It’s a better guess to say he’ll race in September at Belmont, if at all. He’s probably not as great as his daddy, but a better horse than Crusader.”

As Conway predicted, War Admiral was sidelined until October, but he immediately returned  to form, cruising to three more wins, including the Washington Handicap and Pimlico Special. Undefeated on the campaign, he was named Horse of the Year.

War Admiral began his 4-year-old season in brilliant fashion, extending his win streak to 11 with victories in an allowance and the Widener and Queens County handicaps. His win streak was snapped by the talented Menow in the Massachusetts Handicap, but War Admiral quickly rebounded to win the Wilson, Saratoga Handicap, Whitney, and Saratoga Cup in a four-week span at Saratoga. He then tacked on a three-length victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont before being defeated by Seabiscuit in the Pimlico Special, one of the most famous events in American racing history.

Following the loss to Seabiscuit, War Admiral raced twice more, winning the Rhode Island Handicap at Narragansett 11 days later in his final start at 4 and earning an allowance victory in February 1939 at Hialeah. War Admiral was then retired to stud at Riddle’s farm in Kentucky because of an ankle injury. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1958.

A week after War Admiral was retired, Conway decided it was time for him to retire, too. He had been suffering from heart trouble and returned to New Jersey, where he stayed with his sister, Ella Conway, in Oceanport. Conway, a lifelong bachelor, died at his sister’s house on June 19, 1939, at the age of 66.

Daily Racing Form said Conway as “one of the outstanding figures of turfdom for the last forty years.”

Known for his attention to detail and class, Conway was admired for his horsemanship and considerate nature.  

“Among horsemen,” a writer noted in 1937, “Conway is known as a kindly old gentleman with a fine knowledge of horses. Seldom does one hear a swear word around his stable — not that the 64-year-old trainer doesn’t approve of it — but it just isn’t done. ‘Darn’ is a strong word for him to use.”