1. The Times in the 'teens was a decent newspaper ... not the whorish leftist propaganda rag that it is today.

2. Anyone who knows thoroughbred racing history ... knows that the writer of the first anecdote doesn't. There was nothing "unlikely" about Upset defeating Man O' War that day ... he was the second best colt in that crop ... and ... having previously finished second to Man O' War ... there was nothing particularly unusual about his winning the Sanford ... since Man O' War was giving him 15 pounds that day ... and was himself only bet down to 1-2 in only his seventh start ... not 1-20. Upset finished second to Man O' War three more times ... defeating all the other top colts in that crop ... and also finished second in the Kentucky Derby. His defeat of Man O' War was not some great "upset" on that day ... it only became notable in retrospect after Man O' War won all the rest of his races.

3. The word "upset" ... to mean a surprise turn of events ... goes back even further in the 19th century than the sports usages cited in the article.

So ... there never was a "perfectly good sports legend" ... from my highly knowledgable perspective ... but ...

... I do understand why I'm always near the surface of everyone's thoughts.