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{{Short description|American champion thoroughbred racehorse (1933–1947)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox racehorse
|horsename= Seabiscuit 
|image= Seabiscuit workout with GW up.jpg
|caption= [[George Woolf]] on Seabiscuit
|sire= [[Hard Tack (horse)|Hard Tack]]
|grandsire = [[Man o' War]]
|dam= Swing On
|damsire= [[Whisk Broom II]]
|sex= [[Stallion]]
| foaled = {{birth date|1933|05|23|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1947|05|17|1933|05|23|df=y}}
|country= [[United States]]
|colour= [[Bay (horse)|Bay]]
|breeder= [[Gladys Mills Phipps]] 
|owner= [[Charles S. Howard|Charles Howard]]
|trainer= 1) [[James E. Fitzsimmons|"Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons]]<br />2) [[R. Thomas Smith|Tom Smith]]
|record= 89: 33–15–1
|earnings= $437,730
|race= [[Scarsdale Handicap]] (1936)<br />[[Massachusetts Handicap]] (1937)<br />[[Brooklyn Handicap]] (1937)<br />[[Butler Handicap|Butler Memorial Handicap]] (1937)<br />[[Riggs Handicap]] (1937)<br />[[San Juan Capistrano Handicap]] (1937)<br />[[Bay Meadows Handicap]] (1937, 1938)<br />[[Agua Caliente Handicap]] (1938)<br />[[Havre de Grace Handicap]] (1938)<br />[[Match race]] vs [[Ligaroti]] (1938)<br />[[Pimlico Special]] vs [[War Admiral]] (1938)<br />[[Hollywood Gold Cup]] (1938)<br />[[San Antonio Handicap]] (1940)<br />[[Santa Anita Handicap]] (1940)
|awards= [[Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse|U.S. Champion Handicap Male]] (1937 & 1938)<br />[[Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year|U.S. Horse of the Year]] (1938)
|honors= [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|United States Racing Hall of Fame]] (1958)<br />[[Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century|#25 – Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century]]<br />[[Statue|Life-size statues]] at [[Santa Anita Park]] and Saratoga Springs<br/>[[Graded stakes race|Grade II]] [[Seabiscuit Handicap]] at [[Del Mar Racetrack]] (2014&ndash; )
|updated= 21 November 2021
}}

'''Seabiscuit''' (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion [[thoroughbred]] [[racehorse]] in the [[United States]] who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, [[War Admiral]], by four lengths in a two-horse special at [[Pimlico Race Course|Pimlico]] and was voted [[American Horse of the Year]] for 1938.

A small horse, at 15.2 [[Hand (unit)|hands]] high,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/community/chat_03/2003-07-25-paulick.htm|title=USATODAY.com|website=USA Today |access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524155405/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/community/chat_03/2003-07-25-paulick.htm|archive-date=May 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Seabiscuit had an inauspicious start to his racing career, winning only a quarter of his first 40 races, but became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the [[Great Depression]].

Seabiscuit has been the subject of numerous books and films, including ''Seabiscuit: the Lost Documentary'' (1939); the [[Shirley Temple]] film ''[[The Story of Seabiscuit]]'' (1949); a book, ''[[Seabiscuit: An American Legend]]'' (1999) by [[Laura Hillenbrand]]; and a film adaptation of Hillenbrand's book, ''[[Seabiscuit (film)|Seabiscuit]]'' (2003), that was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]. There is also a street in [[Indian Trail, North Carolina]] named after him.

==Early days==
[[File:Seabiscuit Charles Howard.jpg |thumb|left|Seabiscuit with owner [[Charles S. Howard|Charles Howard]]]]
Seabiscuit was [[Horse breeding|foaled]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], on May 23, 1933,<ref>{{cite web |website=IMDb |url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1403453/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 |title= Seabiscuit (1933–1947)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website= IMDb |title= Seabiscuit Biography |url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1403453/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm}}</ref> from the [[mare]] Swing On and [[Sire (horse)|sire]] [[Hard Tack (horse)|Hard Tack]], a son of [[Man o' War]].<ref name=SEP>{{cite news|title=Champion|date=April 27, 1940 |work= [[Saturday Evening Post]] |volume=212 |number= 44 |page=28}}</ref> Seabiscuit was named for his father; "sea biscuit" is another name for [[hardtack]], a type of cracker eaten by sailors.<ref name="FoodH">{{cite news |author= Stradley, Linda |date= 2004 |url= http://whatscookingamerica.net/Glossary/H.htm |work= Linda's Culinary Dictionary |title= H (see "hardtack") |access-date= June 18, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150709182253/http://whatscookingamerica.net/Glossary/H.htm |archive-date= July 9, 2015 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sea-biscuit |title=Definition of 'sea biscuit' |publisher=[[Collins English Dictionary]]}}</ref>

The [[bay (color)|bay]] colt grew up on [[Claiborne Farm]] in [[Paris, Kentucky]], where he was trained. He was undersized, knobby-kneed,<ref name=SEP/> and given to sleeping and eating for long periods.

Initially, Seabiscuit was owned by the powerful [[Wheatley Stable]] and trained by [[James E. Fitzsimmons|"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 too lazy. Fitzsimmons devoted most of his time to training [[Omaha (horse)|Omaha]], who won the 1935 Triple Crown.

Seabiscuit was relegated to a heavy schedule of smaller races. He failed to win any of his first 17 races, usually finishing back in the field. After that, Fitzsimmons did not spend much time on him, and the horse was sometimes the butt of stable jokes. However, Seabiscuit began to gain attention after winning two races at [[Narragansett Park]] and setting a new track record in the second—Claiming Stakes race.

As a two-year-old, Seabiscuit raced 35 times (a heavy racing schedule),<ref name=SEP/> coming in first five times and finishing second seven times. These included three [[claiming race]]s, in which he could have been purchased for $2,500, but he had no takers.<ref name=SEP/>

While Seabiscuit had not lived up to his racing potential, he was not the poor performer Fitzsimmons had taken him for. His last two wins as a two-year-old came in minor stakes races. The next season started with a similar pattern. The colt ran 12 times in less than four months, winning four times. One of those races was a cheap allowance race on the "sweltering afternoon of June 29," 1936, at [[Suffolk Downs]]. That was where trainer [[R. Thomas Smith|Tom Smith]] first laid eyes on Seabiscuit.<ref>{{cite book |author-link= Laura Hillenbrand |author= Hillenbrand, Laura |date=2001 |title= Seabiscuit: An American Legend|publisher= Random House Publishing |isbn= 978-0-449-00561-3 |url= https://archive.org/details/seabiscuitameric00hill |url-access= registration }}</ref> His owners sold the horse to automobile entrepreneur [[Charles S. Howard]] for $8,000 at [[Saratoga Race Course|Saratoga]], in August.<ref name=SEP/>

==1936/1937: The beginning of success ==
[[File:Seabiscuit Tom Smith.jpg|thumb|left|Seabiscuit with trainer [[R. Thomas Smith|Tom Smith]]]]
Howard assigned Seabiscuit to a new trainer, [[R. Thomas Smith|Tom Smith]],<ref name=SEP/> who, with his unorthodox training methods, gradually brought Seabiscuit out of his lethargy. Smith paired the horse with [[Canadians|Canadian]] jockey [[Red Pollard]] (1909–1981), who had experience racing in the [[West Coast of the United States|West]] and in Mexico. On August 22, 1936, they raced Seabiscuit for the first time. Improvements came quickly, and in their remaining eight races in the [[East Coast of the United States|East]], Seabiscuit and Pollard won several times, including the Detroit Governor's Handicap (worth $5,600) and the [[Scarsdale Handicap]] ($7,300) at [[Empire City Race Track]] in [[Yonkers, New York]].

In early November 1936, Howard and Smith shipped the horse to California by rail. His last two races of the year were at [[Bay Meadows]] racetrack in [[San Mateo, California]]. The first was the $2,700 Bay Bridge Handicap, run over {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}}. Despite starting badly and carrying the top weight of {{convert|116|lb|kg}}, Seabiscuit won by five lengths. At the World's Fair Handicap (Bay Meadows' most prestigious [[stakes race]]), Seabiscuit led throughout.

In 1937, the [[Santa Anita Handicap]], California's most prestigious race, was worth over $125,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2|2010|r=1}}}} million in 2010) to the winner; it was known colloquially as "The Hundred Grander." In his first warm-up race at [[Santa Anita Park]], Seabiscuit won easily. In his second race of 1937, the [[San Antonio Handicap]], he suffered a setback after he was bumped at the start and then pushed wide; Seabiscuit came in fifth, losing to [[Rosemont (horse)|Rosemont]].

The two met again in the Santa Anita Handicap a week later, where Rosemont won by a nose. The defeat was devastating to Smith and Howard and was widely attributed in the press to a jockey error.<ref name=SEP/>{{cref|a}} Pollard, who had not seen Rosemont over his shoulder until too late, was blind in one eye due to an accident during a training ride, a fact he had hidden throughout his career. A week after this defeat Seabiscuit won the [[San Juan Capistrano Handicap]] by seven lengths in track record time of 1:48{{frac|4|5}} for the {{frac|1|1|8}} mile event.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=San+Juan+Capistrano+Sea+Biscuit+Lowry+GRAND+MANITOU+Lengths&ymd=1937-03-07  |title=Seabiscuit Triumphs By Seven Lengths (1937 San Juan Capistrano Handicap - race 6: ''held 6 March 1937'') |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]  |date=7 March 1937 |access-date=18 June 2020  |pages=25, 26  | first = Paul | last = Lowry }}</ref>

Seabiscuit was rapidly becoming a favorite among California racing fans, and his fame spread as he won his next three races. With his successes, Howard decided to ship the horse east for its more prestigious racing circuit.

Seabiscuit's run of victories continued. Between June 26 and August 7, he ran five times, each time in a [[stakes race]], and each time he won under steadily increasing [[Handicap (horse racing)|handicap weights (imposts)]] of up to {{convert|130|lb|kg}}. For the third time, Seabiscuit faced off against Rosemont again, this time beating him by seven lengths. On September 11, Smith accepted an impost of {{convert|132|lb|kg}} for the Narragansett Special at [[Narragansett Park]]. On race day, the ground was slow and heavy, and unsuited to "the Biscuit", carrying the heaviest burden of his career. Smith wanted to [[Scratch (horse racing)|scratch]], but Howard overruled him. Never in the running, Seabiscuit finished third. His winning streak was snapped, but the season was not over; Seabiscuit won his next three races (one a [[Dead heat (racing)|dead heat]]) before finishing the year with a second-place at [[Pimlico Race Course|Pimlico]].

In 1937, Seabiscuit won 11 of his 15 races and was the year's leading money winner in the [[United States]]. However, [[War Admiral]], having won the [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#United States Triple Crowns|Triple Crown]] that season, was voted the most prestigious honor, the [[Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year|American Horse of the Year Award]].

==Early five-year-old season==
[[File:Seabiscuit Red Pollard.jpg|thumb|Seabiscuit with Red Pollard]]
In 1938, as a five-year-old, Seabiscuit's success continued. On February 19, Pollard suffered a terrible fall while racing on Fair Knightess, another of Howard's horses. With half of Pollard's chest caved in by the weight of the fallen horse, Howard had to find a new jockey. After trying three, he settled on [[George Woolf]], an already successful rider and old friend of Pollard's.

Woolf's first race aboard Seabiscuit was the Santa Anita Handicap, "The Hundred Grander" the horse had narrowly lost the previous year. Seabiscuit was drawn on the outside, and at the start was impeded by another horse, Count Atlas, angling out. The two were locked together for the first straight, and by the time Woolf disentangled his horse, they were six lengths off the pace. Seabiscuit worked his way to the lead but lost in a [[photo finish]] to the fast-closing [[Santa Anita Derby]] winner, [[Stagehand (horse)|Stagehand]] (owned by Maxwell Howard, not related to Charles), who had been assigned {{convert|30|lb|kg}} less than Seabiscuit.

Throughout 1937 and 1938, the media speculated about a [[match race]] between Seabiscuit and the seemingly invincible [[War Admiral]] (sired by Man o' War, Seabiscuit's grandsire). The two horses were scheduled to meet in three stakes races, but one or the other was scratched, usually due to Seabiscuit's dislike of heavy ground. After extensive negotiation, the owners organized a match race for May 1938 at [[Belmont Park|Belmont]], but Seabiscuit was scratched.

By June, Pollard had recovered, and on June 23, he agreed to work a young colt named Modern Youth. Spooked by something on the track, the horse broke rapidly through the stables and threw Pollard, shattering his leg and seemingly ending his career.

Howard arranged a match race for Seabiscuit against Ligaroti, a highly regarded horse owned by the [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] entertainer [[Bing Crosby]] and Howard's son, [[Lindsay C. Howard|Lindsay]], through [[Binglin Stable]], in an event organized to promote Crosby's resort and [[Del Mar Racetrack]] in [[Del Mar, California]]. With Woolf aboard, Seabiscuit won that race, despite persistent fouling from Ligaroti's jockey. After three more outings and with only one win, he was scheduled to go head-to-head with War Admiral in the [[Pimlico Special]] in November, in [[Baltimore, Maryland]].<ref name=nack>{{cite magazine|author=Nack, William |date=November 29, 1999|title=A Match Made in Heaven|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|volume=91|number=21|page=128}}</ref>

Sent to race on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], on October 16, 1938, Seabiscuit ran second by two lengths in the Laurel Stakes to the [[filly]] [[Jacola]], who set a new [[Laurel Park Racecourse]] record of 1:37.00 for one mile.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/10/16/archives/wall-rides-jacola-to-twolength-triumph-over-seabiscuit-in-laurel.html | newspaper=The New York Times | title=Wall Rides Jacola to Two-Length Triumph Over Seabiscuit in Laurel Stakes; Jacola, 7-1, Breaks Laurel Mile Mark; Filly Conquers Seabiscuit in 1:37 | date=October 16, 1938 | access-date=July 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723065956/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/10/16/archives/wall-rides-jacola-to-twolength-triumph-over-seabiscuit-in-laurel.html | archive-date=July 23, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>

{{quote box
| width = 280px
| quote = "George Woolf always said he never had more fun on a racehorse than he did that day in 1938 at [[Pimlico Race Course|Pimlico]], when Tom Smith, the horse's trainer, lifted Woolf aboard Seabiscuit for the big match race against War Admiral."<ref name=nack/>
| source = William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', November 29, 1999
}}

On November 1, 1938, Seabiscuit met [[War Admiral]] and jockey [[Charles Kurtsinger]] in what was dubbed the "Match of the Century." The event was run over {{convert|1+3/16|mi|km}} at [[Pimlico Race Course]]. From the grandstands to the infield, the track was jammed with fans. Trains were run from all over the country to bring fans to the race, and the estimated 40,000 at the track were joined by 40 million listening on the radio. War Admiral was the favorite (1–4 with most bookmakers) and a nearly unanimous selection of the writers and tipsters, excluding a California contingent.

Head-to-head races favor fast starters, and War Admiral's speed from the gate was well known. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, was a pace stalker, skilled at holding with the pack before pulling ahead with late acceleration. From the scheduled walk-up start, few gave him a chance to lead War Admiral into the first turn. Smith knew these things and trained Seabiscuit to run against this type, using a starting bell and a whip to give the horse a [[Classical conditioning|Pavlovian]] burst of speed from the start.

When the bell rang, Seabiscuit broke in front, led by over a length after 20 seconds, and soon crossed over to the rail position. Halfway down the backstretch, War Admiral started to cut into the lead, gradually pulling level with Seabiscuit, then slightly ahead. Following advice he had received from Pollard, Woolf had eased up on Seabiscuit, allowing his horse to see his rival, then asked for more effort. Two hundred yards from the wire, Seabiscuit pulled away again and continued to extend his lead over the closing stretch, finally winning by four lengths despite War Admiral running his best time for the distance.

As a result of his races that year, Seabiscuit was named [[American Horse of the Year]] for 1938, beating War Admiral by 698 points to 489 in a poll conducted by the ''Turf and Sport Digest magazine''.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K61aAAAAIBAJ&pg=4373,2797726&dq=seabiscuit+horse-of-the-year&hl=en |title= Seabiscuit voted best of 1938 crop |publisher= Prescott Evening Courier |date= December 12, 1938 |access-date= February 26, 2012}}</ref> Seabiscuit was the number one newsmaker of 1938.<ref name=andriani>Andriani, Lynn (January 1, 2001), "PW Talks with Laura Hillenbrand". ''Publishers Weekly''. '''248''' (1):75</ref> The only major prize that eluded him was the Santa Anita Handicap.

==Injury and return==
Seabiscuit was injured during a race. [[George Woolf|Woolf]], who was riding him, said that he felt the horse stumble. The injury was not life-threatening, although many predicted Seabiscuit would never race again. The diagnosis was a ruptured [[suspensory ligament]] in the front left leg. With Seabiscuit out of action, Smith and Howard concentrated on their horse [[Kayak II (horse)|Kayak II]], an Argentine stallion.  In the spring of 1939, Seabiscuit covered seven of Howard's mares, all of which had healthy foals in spring of 1940.  One, Fair Knightess's colt, died as a yearling.

Seabiscuit and a still-convalescing Pollard recovered together at Howard's ranch, with the help of Pollard's new wife Agnes, who had nursed him through his initial recovery. Slowly, both horse and rider learned to walk again (Pollard joked that they "had four good legs between" them).<ref>{{cite news|author=Hillenbrand, Laura |date=July–August 1998|title=Four good legs between us|work=American Heritage|volume=49|number=4|page=38}}</ref> Poverty and his injury had brought Pollard to the edge of alcoholism. A local doctor broke and reset Pollard's leg to aid his recovery, and slowly Pollard regained the confidence to sit on a horse. Wearing a brace to stiffen his atrophied leg, he began to ride Seabiscuit again, first at a walk and later at a trot and canter. Howard was delighted at their improvement, as he longed for Seabiscuit to race again, but was extremely worried about Pollard, as his leg was still fragile.

Over the fall and winter of 1939, Seabiscuit's fitness seemed to improve by the day. By the end of the year, Smith was ready to return the horse to race training, with a collection of stable jockeys in the saddle. By the time of his comeback race, Pollard had cajoled Howard into allowing him the ride. After the horse was scratched due to soft going, the pair finally lined up at the start of the [[La Jolla Handicap]] at [[Santa Anita Park|Santa Anita]], on February 9, 1940. Seabiscuit was third, beaten by two lengths. By their third comeback race, Seabiscuit was back to his winning ways, running away from the field in the San Antonio Handicap to beat his erstwhile training partner, Kayak II, by two and a half lengths. Under {{convert|124|lb|kg}}, Seabiscuit equalled the track record for a mile and 1/16.
[[File:Seabiscuit winning 1940 SAH.jpg|thumb|left|Seabiscuit winning the Santa Anita Handicap in 1940]]
One race was left in the season. A week after the San Antonio, Seabiscuit and Kayak II both took the gate for the Santa Anita Handicap and its $121,000 prize. Seventy-eight thousand paying spectators crammed the racetrack, most backing Seabiscuit. Pollard found his horse blocked almost from the start. Picking his way through the field, Seabiscuit briefly led. As they thundered down the back straight, Seabiscuit became trapped in third place, behind leader Whichcee and Wedding Call on the outside.

Trusting in his horse's acceleration, Pollard steered between the leaders and burst into the lead, taking the firm ground just off the rail. As Seabiscuit showed his old surge, Wedding Call and Whichcee faltered, and Pollard drove his horse on, taking "The Hundred Grander" by a length and a half from the fast-closing Kayak II under jockey [[Leon Haas]]. Pandemonium engulfed the course. Neither horse and rider, nor trainer and owner, could get through the crowd of well-wishers to the winner's enclosure for some time.

==Retirement, later life, and offspring==
On April 10, 1940, Seabiscuit's retirement from racing was officially announced. When he was retired to the [[Ridgewood Ranch]] near [[Willits, California]], he was horse racing's all-time leading money winner. Put out to stud, Seabiscuit sired 108 foals, including two moderately successful racehorses: [[Sea Sovereign]] and Sea Swallow. Over 50,000 visitors went to Ridgewood Ranch to see Seabiscuit in those seven years before his death in 1947.<ref name="SFgate">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/In-the-1930s-San-Francisco-tycoon-Charles-Howard-2601674.php|work=SFgate|title=In the 1930s, San Francisco Tycoon Charles Howard|access-date=March 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329094028/http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/In-the-1930s-San-Francisco-tycoon-Charles-Howard-2601674.php|archive-date=March 29, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Death and interment==
Seabiscuit died of a probable heart attack<ref>{{cite web |website= IMDb |url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1403453/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm|title= Seabiscuit Biography}}</ref> on May 17, 1947, in [[Willits, California]], six months before his grandsire [[Man o' War]]. He is buried at Ridgewood Ranch in [[Mendocino County, California]].<ref name="SFgate"/><ref>{{cite web |website= IMDb |title= Seabiscuit (1933–1947) |url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1403453/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1}}</ref>

==Legacy and honors==
===Awards and honorable distinctions===
*1938 [[American Horse of the Year]]
* In 1958, Seabiscuit was voted into the [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame]].
* In the ''[[Blood-Horse magazine|Blood-Horse]]'' magazine [[Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century|List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century]] (1999), Seabiscuit was ranked 25th. War Admiral was 13th, and Seabiscuit's grandsire and War Admiral's sire, Man o' War, placed 1st.

===Portrayals in film and television ===
====Documentaries====
* ''[[American Experience]]'': "Seabiscuit" (April 21, 2003)<ref name="imdb.com">{{cite news|work=American Experience|title=Seabiscuit|publisher=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372513/|date=April 21, 2003|access-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210053119/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372513/|archive-date=February 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>) is a documentary episode that aired as Season 15, Episode 11<ref name="imdb.com"/> of the PBS ''American Experience'' series.<ref>{{cite web|title=Seabiscuit|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/seabiscuit/|work=American Experience. WGBH|publisher=PBS|access-date=November 14, 2012|date=April 21, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019060943/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/seabiscuit/|archive-date=October 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''[[ESPN SportsCentury]]'': "Seabiscuit" (November 17, 2003), Seabiscuit was featured on ESPN's SportsCentury Greatest Athletes series.<ref>{{cite news|title=ESPN SportsCentury - Seabiscuit|date=November 17, 2003|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0568356/|access-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208192540/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0568356/|archive-date=February 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''The True Story of Seabiscuit'' (July 27, 2003) is a 45-minute made-for-TV documentary directed by [[Craig Haffner]], written by [[Martin Gillam]], and containing interviews and footage with [[William H. Macy]], Seabiscuit, and [[Tobey Maguire]], that aired on the [[USA Network]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The True Story of Seabiscuit|date=July 27, 2003|publisher=USA Network|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377121/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2}}</ref>
* ''Seabiscuit: the Lost Documentary'' (1939) by Seabiscuit's owner Charles Howard. The film was directed by Manny Nathan, and written by Nathan and Hazel Merry Hawkins. It stars Martin Mason, Doc Bond, Charles Howard as himself and his wife, Marcella.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384511/|title=Seabiscuit|via=www.imdb.com|access-date=July 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209224731/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384511/|archive-date=February 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> It was colorized and released in 2003 by [[Legend Films]] to coincide with interest around the movie.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
* ''Seabiscuit: America's Legendary Racehorse'' (2003) directed and produced by [[Nick Krantz]].

====Fiction films====
* ''[[Stablemates]]'' (1938), starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney. Film producer Harry Rapf arranged a deal whereby he could film the $50,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, and actual footage of Seabiscuit running in the race was used. The field is headed by Seabiscuit for the "straight" race in the film.<ref>{{cite news|title=Seabiscuit Runs In Gold Cup Race|url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19381104.2.81&srpos=5&e=------193-en--20--1--txt-txIN-stablemates-------1|volume=XII|issue=14|publisher=Desert Sun|date=November 4, 1938|page=9|access-date=June 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630211232/http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19381104.2.81&srpos=5&e=------193-en--20--1--txt-txIN-stablemates-------1|archive-date=June 30, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Porky Pig filmography#1939|Porky and Teabiscuit]]'' (1939) is [[Warner Bros.]]' [[Porky Pig]] cartoon take on Seabiscuit's underdog story.
* ''[[The Story of Seabiscuit]]'' (1949), starring [[Shirley Temple]] in her penultimate film, is a fictionalized account featuring [[Sea Sovereign]] in the title role. An otherwise undistinguished film, it did include actual footage of the 1938 match race against [[War Admiral]] and the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap.
* ''[[Seabiscuit (film)|Seabiscuit]]'' (2003), [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]' adaptation of [[Laura Hillenbrand]]'s bestselling 2001 book, was nominated for seven [[Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
* ''The Making of Seabiscuit'' (December 16, 2003) is a documentary short directed by Laurent Bouzereau and starring [[Tobey Maguire]], [[Jeff Bridges]], [[Chris Cooper]], and [[William Goldenberg]], produced by [[DreamWorks SKG]], [[Herzog Productions]], [[Spyglass Entertainment]], and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], and distributed by Universal Studios Home Video.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of Seabiscuit|date=December 16, 2003|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395655/?ref_=fn_al_tt_10|publisher=Universal Studios Home Video|access-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324194808/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395655/?ref_=fn_al_tt_10|archive-date=March 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Non-fiction books===
*Track writer B.K. Beckwith wrote ''Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion'' (1940), with a foreword by [[Grantland Rice]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1940-07-06 |title=Seabiscuit book now on sale |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pasadena-post-seabiscuit-book-now-on/170725538/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=[[The Pasadena Post]] |pages=6}}</ref>
*[[Ralph Moody (author)|Ralph Moody]] wrote ''Come On, Seabiscuit!'' (1963),<ref>{{Cite news |date=1963-12-12 |title="Seabiscuit" book tells story about famous race horse |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/half-moon-bay-review-and-pescadero-pebbl/170725221/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=[[Half Moon Bay Review and Pescadero Pebble]] |pages=11 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> illustrated by [[Robert Riger]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodwin |first=Polly |date=1963-12-15 |title=The junior bookshelf |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-junior-bookshelf-po/170725397/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |pages=147 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
*[[Laura Hillenbrand]]'s book ''[[Seabiscuit: An American Legend]]'' (2001)<ref>{{cite book|title=Seabiscuit: An American Legend|date=2001|isbn=0-449-00561-5|author=Hillenbrand, Laura|publisher=Random House Publishing |url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/seabiscuitameric00hill_0}}</ref> became a bestseller, and in 2003 it was adapted for film.

===Postage stamp===
In 2009, after an eight-year-long grassroots effort by [[Maggie Van Ostrand]] and Chuck Lustick, Seabiscuit was honored by the [[United States Postal Service]] with a stamp bearing his likeness. Thousands of signatures were obtained from all over the nation, and the final approval was given by Citizens Stamp Committee member [[Joan Mondale]], wife of former Vice President [[Walter Mondale]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Sea Biscuit Heritage|url=http://www.seabiscuitheritage.org/press_releases_2009_05_11.html|title=As Seabiscuit Looks On, US Postal Service Gives Racing Legend Big Stamp of Approval at Historic Ridgewood Ranch, CA(New Stamped Envelope Honoring the Great Horse Goes on Sale Today)|location=Willits, CA|date=May 11, 2009|access-date=August 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095740/http://www.seabiscuitheritage.org/press_releases_2009_05_11.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Statues===
[[Image:Arcadia,_California._Mrs._Lily_Okuru_poses_with_statue_of_"Seabiscuit"_in_Santa_Anita_Park,_now_an_._._._-_NARA_-_537056_(cropped).jpg|right|thumb|1941 Seabiscuit statue by American sculptor Jame Hughlette ("Tex") Wheeler at [[Santa Anita Park]] racetrack.<ref>Dickinson, J. W. (2006). Remembering Orlando: Tales from Elvis to Disney. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press.</ref> Lily Okuru, a [[Japanese American]] woman who lived on the track site during its time as a [[Japanese American internment|War Relocation Camp]], poses with the statue in 1942.]]
* A statue of Seabiscuit (not life-sized) sits outside the main entrance of [[The Shops at Tanforan]], a shopping mall built upon the former site of the [[Tanforan Racetrack]]. Seabiscuit was stabled there briefly in 1939, while preparing for his comeback.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E14F73F5A177A93C6AB178BD95F4D8385F9 | newspaper=The New York Times | title=Seabiscuit at Tanforan; Howard Horse to Start Training for Racing Comeback | date=October 24, 1939 | access-date=February 12, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107145119/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E14F73F5A177A93C6AB178BD95F4D8385F9 | archive-date=November 7, 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref>
* In the 1940s, businessman and racehorse owner W. Arnold Hanger donated a statuette of Seabiscuit to the [[Keeneland]] library.
* In 1941, American sculptor [[Hughlette Wheeler|Jame Hughlette "Tex" Wheeler]] cast two life-sized bronze statues of Seabiscuit hand-tooled by Frank Buchler, the German immigrant owner of Washington Ornamental Iron Company Los Angeles: one stands in "Seabiscuit Court", the walking ring at [[Santa Anita Park]] racetrack in Arcadia, CA; the other is outside the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, NY.<ref>{{cite news |title= Statue of Seabiscuit |url= http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/20753 |id= (Saratoga Springs, New York, 1940) |access-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170820034033/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/20753 |archive-date= August 20, 2017 |url-status= live }}</ref>
* On June 23, 2007, a statue of Seabiscuit was unveiled at Ridgewood Ranch, Seabiscuit's final resting place.
* On July 17, 2010, a life-size statue of [[George Woolf]] and Seabiscuit was unveiled at the Remington Carriage Museum in Woolf's hometown of [[Cardston, Alberta]]. This coincided with the 100th anniversary of Woolf's birth, though not the actual date.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Seabiscuit statue - BC2016.jpg|"Seabiscuit" statue at Santa Anita in 2016, draped in a Breeders' Cup winner's blanket.
</gallery>

==Pedigree==
{{Pedigree
|name = Seabiscuit<ref name="Equineline">{{cite web|title=Seabiscuit|url=https://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Seabiscuit?page_state=DISPLAY_REPORT&reference_number=442937&registry=T&horse_name=Seabiscuit&dam_name=Swing%20On&foaling_year=1933&include_sire_line=Y|website=Equineline|access-date=September 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929140327/https://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Seabiscuit?page_state=DISPLAY_REPORT&reference_number=442937&registry=T&horse_name=Seabiscuit&dam_name=Swing%20On&foaling_year=1933&include_sire_line=Y|archive-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
|inf = 
|f = [[Hard Tack (horse)|Hard Tack]]<br />b. 1926
|m = Swing On<br />b. 1926
|ff = [[Man o' War]]<br />ch. 1917
|fm = Tea Biscuit<br /> 1912
|mf = [[Whisk Broom II]]<br />ch. 1907
|mm = Balance<br />b. 1919
|fff = [[Fair Play (horse)|Fair Play]]<br />ch. 1905
|ffm = [[Mahubah]]<br />b. 1910
|fmf = [[Rock Sand]]<br />br. 1900
|fmm = Tea's Over<br />ch. 1893<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family9.htm |title=Vintner Mare - Family 9 |publisher=Bloodlines.net |access-date=August 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524010130/http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family9.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|mff = [[Broomstick (horse)|Broomstick]]<br />b. 1901
|mfm = [[Audience (horse)|Audience]]<br /> 1901
|mmf = Rabelais<br />br. 1900
|mmm = Balancoire<br />b. 1911
|ffff = [[Hastings (horse)|Hastings]]
|fffm = Fairy Gold
|ffmf = [[Rock Sand]]
|ffmm = Merry Token
|fmff = [[Sainfoin (horse)|Sainfoin]]
|fmfm = Roquebrune
|fmmf = [[Hanover (thoroughbred horse)|Hanover]]
|fmmm = Tea Rose
|mfff = [[Ben Brush]]
|mffm = Elf
|mfmf = [[Sir Dixon]]
|mfmm = [[Sallie McClelland]]
|mmff = [[St. Simon (horse)|St. Simon]]
|mmfm = Satirical
|mmmf = [[Meddler (horse)|Meddler]]
|mmmm = Ballantrae
}}

==Notable races won==
<!-- ALL RACES INCLUDED HERE SHOULD BE NOTABLE ENOUGH TO MERIT THEIR OWN WIKIPEDIA PAGE. ALL OTHERS WILL BE REMOVED -->
Seabiscuit ran 89 times at 16 different distances over the course of his career.<ref>Hillenbrand, Laura (May/June 2000), "Racehorse".'' American Heritage''. '''51''' (3):78</ref>
*[[Brooklyn Handicap]] (1937)<ref name="durso">{{cite journal |last1=Durso |first1=Joseph |title=Horse Racing: Notebook; A Revival at Belmont For Stars Who Stayed |journal=The New York Times |date=June 17, 1994 |page=B00017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/17/sports/horse-racing-notebook-a-revival-at-belmont-for-stars-who-stayed.html |access-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108000031/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/17/sports/horse-racing-notebook-a-revival-at-belmont-for-stars-who-stayed.html |archive-date=January 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[San Antonio Handicap]] (1940)
*[[Santa Anita Handicap]] (1940)

==See also==
* [[List of racehorses]]

==Notes==
{{cnote|a|The ''Saturday Evening Post'', dated April 27, 1940, reported: "By the following
March the horse failed only by inches—because
his jockey erred in looking back—to win in
his first try at the Santa Anita Handicap, richest
of all races."<ref name=SEP/>}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category}}
* [[Brainerd Kellogg Beckwith|Beckwith, B.K.]] (1940), ''Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion'', with drawings by Howard Brodie, [[Wilfred Crowell, Inc.]], San Francisco.
* [[Laura Hillenbrand|Hillenbrand, Laura]] (2001), ''Seabiscuit: An American Legend''.

==External links==
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/video/american-horse-race-at-baltimore Newsreel film of Seabiscuit v War Admiral]
* [http://www.seabiscuitheritage.com/ Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation. Livingston, Tracy (2005), retrieved June 26, 2005.]
* [http://www.snopes.com/sports/horse/seabiscuit.asp "Seabiscuit", Snopes.com (2005), retrieved June 18, 2015].
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051101021709/http://www.equineonline.net/uk/equestrian_articles/seabiscuit.htm Seabiscuit, 1938 Horse of the Year]}}
* [https://us.imdb.com/find?q=seabiscuit;s=tt ''Seabiscuit'', Hollywood film, 2003]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041923/ ''The Story of Seabiscuit'', Hollywood film, 1949]
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/seabiscuit The Biscuit's pedigree]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060221100229/http://www.discoversaratoga.org/Race/game.cfm Quick online racing game, inc. The Biscuit]
* [http://colinsghost.org/2010/02/seabiscuit-war-admiral-race-announced-1938.html Article about the Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVT2MPNCqgM Youtube of the 1938 match race]
* [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/seabiscuit/ ''Seabiscuit''], an [[American Experience]] documentary film by [[Stephen Ives]], shown on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]
* [http://www.janiburon.com/ www.janiburon.com, website of author of Seabiscuit books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220094249/http://www.janiburon.com/ |date=February 20, 2012 }}
{{American Horse of the Year winners}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1933 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1947 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in the United States]]
[[Category:Horse racing track record setters]]
[[Category:American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year]]
[[Category:United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Horse monuments]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred family 5-j]]
[[Category:Godolphin Arabian sire line]]