MADDOXTOWN, Ky. (WKYT) – A Richmond man who describes himself as a horse history buff has restored the fallen headstone of Will Harbut, the famous groom of thoroughbred champion Man O’ War, at a cemetery behind First Baptist Church Maddoxtown.
Chad Wells made the discovery last spring when he drove from Richmond to the Lexington hamlet of Maddoxtown, where Mount Brilliant Horse Farm sits across the street from the church cemetery.
“We drove down to visit the barn and paddock where Man O’ War was at stud,” Wells said, “and when you read about Man O’ War you inevitably read about Will, and they were so close together we had to stop and pay our respects.”
A legend and his groom
Harbut served as Man O’ War’s groom and was known as a calming presence for the high-strung thoroughbred. The Kentucky Horse Park holds photographs from the 1930s and ’40s documenting the bond between the two. The pair received visits from the Alabama football team, film star Jeanette McDonald and members of the Egyptian Army. Harbut and Man O’ War appeared together on the cover of a national magazine — at a time when it was rare for an African American to appear on a publication’s front page.
A headstone in disrepair
When Wells found Harbut’s grave site, the headstone — engraved with Harbut and his wife Mary’s names and dated 1947 — had toppled from its base…