That combination of milk chocolate, caramel, nougat, and peanuts truly is satisfying. So, too, is the way the Snickers bar was named … especially for racehorse fans.

Minnesotan Franklin Clarence Mars developed a passion for candy making as a child when he had a mild case of polio. It was during that time that his mother, Alva, taught him how to hand-dip chocolate, so we owe Alva a debt of gratitude every time we inhale a Milky Way, a packet of M&M’s, or, yes, a Snickers.

Frank Mars’ initial foray into commercial candy making in Tacoma, Wash., was unsuccessful as the first Mars candy factory languished in the shadows of an established and successful neighbor, Brown & Haley which produced the Almond Roca.

Frank and his second wife, Ethel, moved back to Minneapolis, Minn., in 1920 and started the Mar-o-Bar Co. (later shortened to Mars). They struck chocolate gold when Frank’s son, Forrest Edward Mars, created the best-selling Milky Way.

The success of the Milky Way bar paved the way for Frank and especially Ethel to pursue another passion: horses. The couple established Milky Way Farm in Pulaski, Tenn., a lavish estate with a clubhouse, race track, and 30 barns on more than 2,800 acres in 1930, right at the same time Forrest had developed a tasty new, yet-to-be-named candy bar.

The beloved equine Snickers. (Mars Co. photo/snickers.com)

Ethel’s beloved horse Snickers had recently died, and as a tribute they decided to name the new candy bar after the horse. Inspiration, move me brightly.

Mars sold the first Snickers for a nickel in Chicago.

(Apparently, it was renamed Marathon bar for distribution in the United Kingdom because Snickers was too close to the word knickers and there was fear that Brits would get their knickers in a bunch over the name Snickers.)

Frank Mars died April 8, 1935, at the age of 51. Ethel’s passion for racehorses continued to burn, however, and she reportedly spent more than half a million dollars in search of a Kentucky Derby winner. Milky Way Farms started a racehorse in the run for the roses for six straight years from 1935 to 1940 with 10 starters overall between 1935 and 1943. Milky Way Farm’s Whiskolo finished third in 1935 and Reaping Reward matched him when third in 1937. In 1940, Ethel Mars’ Gallahadion upset heavy favorite Bimelech at 35.20-1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby, making Ethel the sixth woman owner to win the Kentucky Derby.

Gallahadion, of course, will reside in the annals of horse racing history forever as a Kentucky Derby winner, but Ethel Mars’ beloved Snickers, well, that legacy extends far beyond the racetrack.

Almost a century after the first Snickers sold for five cents, it’s one of the most iconic candy bars on the planet … fueled by a tasty mix of nuts, caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate and a fitting tribute to a beloved horse whose name rings out every Halloween.