Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933—May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred race horse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion, and during the Great Depression became a symbol of hope to many Americans. At the peak of his fame in 1938, it was suggested that he had generated more newsprint in the U.S. than either Adolf Hitler or Franklin D. Roosevelt, but this is an urban legend. In 2001, Seabiscuit became the subject of a book (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) and in 2003 a Universal Studios film (Seabiscuit).

Early days

Seabiscuit was born from the mare Swing On and sired by Hard Tack (son of Man O' War). The bay colt grew up on Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He was undersized, knobby-kneed, and not much to look at, and was given to sleeping and eating for long periods. Initially he was trained by the legendary Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, who had taken Gallant Fox to the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Fitzsimmons saw some potential in Seabiscuit, but felt the horse was lazy, and with most of his time taken training Omaha (another Triple Crown winner), Seabiscuit was relegated to a punishing schedule of small races. In his first ten races he failed to win, and most times finished well back of the field. After that, training him for racing was almost an afterthought and the horse was sometimes the butt of people's jokes. Then, as a three-year-old, Seabiscuit raced thirty-five times, winning five times, running second seven times. Still, at the end of the racing season, he was used as a work horse. The next racing season, the colt was again less than spectacular and his owners "unloaded" the horse for $8,000, to automobile entrepreneur Charles Howard.

Related Topics:
Swing On - Hard Tack - Man O' War - Bay - Claiborne Farm - Paris, Kentucky - Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons - Gallant Fox - Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing - Omaha - Racing - Charles Howard

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~