Seabiscuit (USA)

May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947

Hard Tack (USA) x Swing On (USA), by Whisk Broom II (USA)

Family 5-j

A castoff from the Wheatley Stable, Seabiscuit blossomed under the care of “Silent Tom” Smith to become one of the great rags-to-riches stories of the Turf and a popular hero during the Depression era. He is best remembered for his upset victory in a match race with War Admiral in 1938 and for his quest to win the Santa Anita Handicap, which finally ended with a victory at age 7. He had limited opportunities and no lasting influence as a sire but gained new fame in 2001 as the subject of a surprise New York Times best-seller which was later made into a movie.


Race record

89 starts, 33 wins, 15 seconds, 15 thirds, US$437,730

1935:

• Won Ardsley Handicap (USA, 5.75FD, Empire City)
• Won Springfield Handicap (USA, 6FD, Agawam Park)
• Won Watch Hill Claiming Stakes (USA, 5FD, Narragansett Park; new track record :59-3/5)
• 2nd Pawtucket Handicap (USA, 6FD, Narragansett Park)
• 3rd Juvenile Handicap (USA, 5FD, Rockingham)

1936:

• Won World's Fair Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Bay Meadows; new track record 1:55-4/5)
• Won Governor's Handicap (USA, 9FD, Detroit)
• Won Scarsdale Handicap (USA, 8f+70yD, Empire City; new track record 1:44)
• Won Bay Bridge Handicap (USA, 8FD, Bay Meadows; new track record 1:36)
• Won Hendrie Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Detroit)
• Won Mohawk Claiming Stakes (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
• 3rd Yorktown Handicap (USA, 9FD, Empire City)
• 3rd East Hills Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, River Downs)
• 3rd Western Hills Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, River Downs)

1937:

• Won Massachusetts Handicap (USA, 9FD, Suffolk Downs; new track record 1:49)
• Won Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
• Won Butler Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Empire City)
• Won Bay Meadows Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Bay Meadows)
• Won Continental Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Jamaica)
• Won Marchbank Handicap (USA, 9FD, Tanforan)
• Won Riggs Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico; new track record 1:57-2/5)
• Won San Juan Capistrano Handicap (USA, 9FD, Santa Anita; new track record 1:48-4/5)
• Won Laurel Stakes (USA, 8FD, Laurel; dead heat with Heelfly)
• Won Yonkers Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Empire City; new track record 1:44-1/5)
• 2nd Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
• 2nd Bowie Handicap (USA, 13FD, Bowie)
• 3rd Narragansett Special Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Narragansett Park)

1938:

• Won Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA, 10FD, Hollywood; new track record 2:03-4/5)
• Won Bay Meadows Handicap (USA, 9FD, Bay Meadows; new track record 1:49)
• Won Agua Caliente Handicap (MEX, 9FD, Agua Caliente)
• Won Havre de Grace Handicap (USA, 9FD, Havre de Grace)
• Won Pimlico Special (match race with War Admiral) (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico; new track record 1:56-3/5)
• Won match race with Ligaroti (USA, 9FD, Del Mar; new track record 1:49)
• 2nd Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
• 2nd Stars and Stripes Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Arlington Park)
• 2nd Laurel Stakes (USA, 8FD, Laurel)
• 2nd San Antonio Handicap (USA, 9FD, Santa Anita)
• 3rd Manhattan Handicap (USA, 12FD, Belmont)

1940:

• Won Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
• Won San Antonio Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita; equaled track record 1:42-2/5)

Honors

• National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1958)
• Arcadia Historical Society's Racing Walk of Champions (inducted as part of the inaugural class in 2014)
• American Horse of the Year (1938)
• American champion handicap male (1937, 1938)

Assessments

Seabiscuit was ranked #25 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by an expert panel assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).

Ranked third among American older males of 1940 by The Blood-Horse.


As an individual

Seabiscuit was a small bay horse standing 15.2-1/2 hands at maturity. He was slightly over at the knee. He had a laid-back disposition and often appeared almost sleepy when going to the post, in contrast to his bulldog determination when actually in action. He was a reluctant worker in the mornings, and his regular exercise rider swore that the horse would put on an act of huffing and blowing to make it seem as though he were putting out more effort than he was.


As a stallion

According to Jockey Club records, Seabiscuit sired 66 winners (61.1%) and four stakes winners (3.7%) from 108 named foals. Because of his location in Northern California, there was little opportunity for major breeders to access his services; the upshot was that he was essentially used as a private stallion by Charles S. Howard, whose broodmare band lacked both quantity and quality.


Connections

Seabiscuit was bred and owned by Wheatley Stable (Mrs. Henry C. Phipps). He was sold to Charles S. Howard for US$7,500 as a three-year-old and campaigned in the name of Mrs. Howard for the remainder of his 3-year-old season and through most of his 4-year-old season. Seabiscuit was trained for Wheatley Stable by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and for the Howards by "Silent Tom" Smith. Seabiscuit stood at his owner's Ridgewood Ranch near Willitts, California, until his death from an apparent heart attack in 1947.


Pedigree notes

Seabiscuit is inbred 5x4 to nine-time English champion sire St. Simon and 5x5 to three-time American champion Hindoo. His half sister Brown Biscuit (by Sir Andrew) produced four stakes winners including 1956 Selima Stakes winner Lebkuchen (by Hill Prince; dam of Irish Group 3 winner Tantoul, by Tatán), 1957 Bougainvillea Turf Handicap winner Espea (by Olympia) and 1949 Governor's Lady Handicap winner Brownian (by Sickle) and is the second dam of 1954 Kentucky Derby winner Determine and 1959 Olympic Handicap winner Noureddin. She is also the third dam of 1969 Kentucky Oaks winner Hail to Patsy and 1963 Falls City Handicap winner Alecee.

Seabiscuit's dam Swing On is a half sister to stakes winners Flippant (by Pennant), Hornpipe (by Chantey) and Uneasy (by Royal Minstrel) and is out of Balance (by Rabelais), a half sister to Swinging (by Broomstick), dam of two-time American Horse of the Year Equipoise (by Pennant). Balance is also a half sister to the good stakes winners Blondin (by Broomstick) and Distraction (by Chicle); to Escarpolette (by Fitz Herbert), dam of three stakes winners and third dam of 1959 American champion sprinter Intentionally; and to Hilee (by Mad Hatter), dam of 1938 Kentucky Oaks winner Flying Lee (by Pennant).

Balance, in turn, is out of 1913 Prix La Flèche winner Balancoire II (by Meddler), who became a notable foundation mare for the Whitney breeding program after being imported to the United States in 1918. She, in turn, was produced from the Ayrshire mare Ballantrae, winner of the 1902 Cambridgeshire Stakes and also the dam of English stakes winners Night Raider II and Melody and American stakes winner Mediant, all by Meddler. Another daughter of Ballantrae, Coeur a Coeur (by Teddy), is the second dam of two-time French champion and four-time French champion sire Djebel (by Tourbillon), two-time Prix d'Ispahan winner Hierocles (by Abjer), Prix de Saint-Firmin winner Djask (by Tourbillon), and multiple French stakes winner Phidias (by Tourbillon).


Books and media

• Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion was written by track veteran B. K. Beckwith with a forward by famed sportswriter Grantland Rice. It was originally published in 1940 by Schwabacher, Frey and Company. It was reprinted in 1975 by the LA Turf Club and in 2004 by Westholme Publishing.
• The Life of Seabiscuit was a montage of newsreel footage released in 1940.
• The 1949 movie The Story of Seabiscuit is a fictionalized account of Seabiscuit's career. The movie was based on a screenplay by John Taintor Foote (best known for his short story “The Look of Eagles”) and starred Shirley Temple. It was distributed by Warner Bros.
• Come on Seabiscuit! is a children's book written by Ralph Moody. It was originally published in 1963 and was reprinted by Bison Books in 2003.
• “The One-Legged Cougar and the Three-Legged Horse” is a chapter on Seabiscuit and his relationship with jockey Red Pollard in the book The Sound of Horses: The World of Horse Racing from Eclipse to Kelso. Written by David Alexander, The Sound of Horses was published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., in 1966.
• Seabiscuit: An American Legend was written by Laura Hillenbrand. Published by Random House in 2001, the book was a surprise best-seller on the New York Times' nonfiction list, becoming the best-selling book of the year and winning the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. Hillenbrand was also awarded the 2001 Big Sport of Turfdom award.
• A movie based on Hillenbrand's book, Seabiscuit, was released by Universal Studios in 2003 and was a popular and critical success, garnering seven Academy Award nominations including one for Best Picture.
• Gary Ross's Seabiscuit: The Screenplay was released by Ballantine Books in 2003. It includes numerous pictures from the movie.
• A Horse Named Seabiscuit was published as part of the All Aboard Reading series by Grosset & Dunlap in 2003. It was written and illustrated by Mark Dubowski.
• The Seabiscuit Story, edited by John McEvoy, reprinted a collection of columns about Seabiscuit from The Blood-Horse from the 1930s and 1940s. It was released by Eclipse Press in 2003.
• The documentary Seabiscuit, an American Experience ran as part of the PBS series American Experience in April 2003. Directed by Steven Ives, it won an Emmy Award for Best Writing for screenwriter Michelle Ferrari.
• Letters to Seabiscuit, a collection of the horse's fan mail, was compiled by Barbara Howard and released by Seven Locks Press in 2003.
• The Spirit of Seabiscuit was written by Jani Burton. It includes information about Seabiscuit's racing and stallion careers, the Howard family and the history of the Howard ranch. It was released by LL Publishing in 2006.
• Seabiscuit, the Rest of the Story follows Seabiscuit's life and those of his people after the close of his racing career. The book was written by William H. Nichols and published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises in 2007.
• Seabiscuit the Wonder Horse is a children's book written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy. It was published by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books in 2008.
• Seabiscuit's rivalry with War Admiral was featured in the fourth chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff of The Blood-Horse.
• The documentary Seabiscuit: America's Legendary Racehorse was released on DVD by Cobra Entertainment LLC in 2011.

Fun facts

• On three separate occasions as a 2-year-old, Seabiscuit could have been claimed for US$2,500.
• Seabiscuit's barn name was “Pappy,” but he was better known to fans as “The Biscuit.”
• In naval terminology, “seabiscuit” is another term for “hard tack,” a hard dry bread or biscuit used as rations for sailors. Thus, Seabiscuit was named for his sire.
• In human terms, Seabiscuit and War Admiral were nephew and uncle. War Admiral was sired by Man o' War, who also fathered Seabiscuit's sire Hard Tack.
• Seabiscuit's regular companion was his stable pony, Pumpkin.
• Seabiscuit was the world's leading money-winning Thoroughbred at the time of his retirement.
• Seabiscuit's match race with War Admiral was ranked #2 in Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, a review of racing in the 20th century compiled by The Blood-Horse and released in 2006. The release of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit: An American Legend also made the list at #61, while Seabiscuit's comeback victory in the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap checked in at #66.
• Seabiscuit was actually involved in two important match races in 1938. The first was at Del Mar, when Seabiscuit took on track founder Bing Crosby's good Argentine import Ligaroti. Conceding 15 pounds, Seabiscuit won by a nose in a race so roughly contested that both jockeys involved (George Woolf on Seabiscuit and Spec Richardson on Ligaroti) were suspended for the remainder of the meet.
• In 2003, following the release of the movie Seabiscuit, the British Horseracing Board appended Seabiscuit's name to that year's renewal of the world's oldest recognized Classic race, the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster. The Seabiscuit St. Leger Stakes was won by the filly Sun Princess.
• The All American Handicap, a Grade 3 race at Bay Meadows was renamed the Seabiscuit Handicap in 2003. Bay Meadows closed in 2008, but Seabiscuit is now honored by the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at the Del Mar fall meeting. This race is for 3-year-olds and up and is carded at 8.5 furlongs on turf.
• The role of Seabiscuit in Seabiscuit: An American Legend was played by six horses. Among them were Fighting Furrari, a 1998 gelding by Momsfurrari; Rich in Dallas, a 1995 gelding by Hurricane Ed; Popcorn Deelites, a 1998 gelding by Afternoon Deelites; and I Two Step Too, a 1993 gelding by Spook Dance.
• Seabiscuit was featured on both a postage stamp and a stamped envelope released by the United States Postal Service in 2009.
• Seabiscuit's stud barn at Ridgewood Ranch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 14, 2014, through the efforts of the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation. The ranch, currently owned by Christ's Church of the Golden Rule, also boasts a life-sized bronze statue of Seabiscuit by Hughlette “Tex” Wheeler.

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Photo credits

Top: Photographer unknown. Red Pollard up; Tom Smith at Seabiscuit's head. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.

Bottom: Photographer unknown. Start of the Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race; Seabiscuit is on the outside with George Woolf up. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.

​Last updated: September 1, 2024