Sea biscuit

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.


William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Henry V
The horse is God's gift to mankind.
Arabian Proverb
You know horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people.
Will Rogers (1879-1935)


Even though his grandaddy was Man o' War, voted the greatest horse of the 20th century, Sea biscuit was an unlikely champion. He was not much to look at. Short legs. Knobby knees. Thin little tail. A coat the color of fresh mud pies. Like so many of the men and women from the Great Depression who cheered him on, he looked as though he had seen "hard times". He had. By the time he retired in 1940 about 6 weeks shy of age 7, he had started in almost 90 races, winning about a third of them. Man o' War retired at 3 having won 20 of 21 races. Secretariat, the only other contender for horse of the 20th century, also retired at 3 having won 16 of 21 races, including the Triple Crown. When Sea biscuit won his last race, the "hundred grander"at Santa Anita that until then alluded him, he was old by today's racing standards, which is why his jockey, Red Pollard, affectionately called him "Pops".

What made Seabiscuit special was not the number of races that he won but the heart and spirit he exhibited under punishing odds. Nowhere was this more evident than on November 1, 1938. War Admiral, the son of Man o' War and a Triple Crown winner, was pitted against the scrappy little Biscuit in what was called the "Match of the Century." The match was held at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland. Defying all the skeptics that said underdogs win only in the movies and carrying the hopes of many ordinary American people wearied by the Depression, Seabiscuit went on to beat the great War Admiral by four lengths. He was named Horse of the Year for 1938. More importantly, Seabiscuit was "The People's Horse" in the way that, 60 years later, Diana Spencer, would be "The People's Princess." Good days or bad, Seabiscuit captured the public's attention and heart.

After his triumph over War Admiral, Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, continued to race his famous horse. In one race, Seabiscuit ruptured a ligament in his front left leg. Howard brought him back to Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, CA to recuperate. While an oddsmaker may have written off Seabiscuit at this point, his trainer, Tom Smith, and injured jockey, Red Pollard, were of a different mindset. It took almost a year of rehabilitation followed by three racing starts to make his comeback, but come back Seabiscuit did, finishing up his racing career with a win from behind at the Santa Anita Handicap on March 2, 1940. On top of that, Sea biscuit, the little horse that was all courage and grit, set the second fastest mile and a quarter in American racing history.

When I was a little young man, My grandparents use to take me the Santa Anita Race Track.
This was around the late 40'S After WWII.
My Grandfather would bet 2.00 to show for me.
We would walk down through the in Field.
Those were the days, Been there about five times.

Even won 4.00.

http://www.saveseabiscuitshome.org/

THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF 1929

Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit  1940 Winner