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Seabiscuit
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, Seabiscuit 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 Seabiscuit 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.
http://www.saveseabiscuitshome.org/ |
