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In 1938, as America was reeling from the Great
Depression, a stocky, dung-colored, knobby-kneed racehorse named
Seabiscuit captured the nation's attention. Columnist Walter Winchell
named him one of the year's top ten newsmakers, along with Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, "the Biscuit's" equine image sold
everything from ladies' hats to oranges to dry cleaning services.
"He would have been a superstar in any era, but he came along at a time
when America was desperate for inspiring heroes," says Laura Hillenbrand.
One sportswriter declared that Americans had come down with "Seabiscuit-itus."
And it is happening yet again in 2003! While the story of Seabiscuit and his jockeys is primarily one of
triumph over hardscrabble adversity, it also illuminates the national mood
as the country struggled through the economic uncertainty of the 1930s.
Seabiscuit "came along in the worst years of the Depression. Americans...
wanted a hero that came from the wrong side of the tracks, that was
beat-up like they were," says Hillenbrand. "For a brief moment in America,
a little brown racehorse wasn't just a little brown racehorse. He was the
proxy for the nation."
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The lure and legend of Seabiscuit The Press Democrat July 13, 2003 |
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The Mendocino County Museum has a permanent exhibit of Seabiscuit and Ridgewood Ranch memorabilia including rare home movies of the horse and ranch. The Museum is located at 400 E. Commercial St. in Willits, CA. Contact Museum by phone at 707-459-2736
Ridgewood Ranch, Home of Seabiscuit book by Jani Burton Sacramento Bee article about Jani Burton 1997 Oral interview with Hay and Edith Petersen, includes Seabiscuit's Ridgewood Ranch
Sacramento Bee
article about Bill and Lil Nichols Bill worked with Seabiscuit. |
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 Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion by B. K. Beckwith, Drawings by Howard Brodie, Foreword by Grantland Rice. ISBN 1-59416-000-7 $19.95 paper Available: July 2003 Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion, is the first complete story of the legendary thoroughbred who captured the heart of a nation. Noted track writer B. K. Beckwith called Seabiscuit’s career a saga because, like a Greek myth or beloved fairytale, it is the tale of a forgotten, abused animal who was rescued, fought his way to the top of horse racing, stumbled, and then returned for a spectacular victory. First published in 1940, when Seabiscuit and all the major characters were alive, its pages sparkle with stories about the great horse: the moment when trainer Tom Smith noticed the emaciated bay in a cheap claims race at Saratoga Springs, the events that led Charles Howard to take a chance and buy the "raced-out" three-year-old colt with bad legs, and the exhilarating accounts from jockeys Red Pollard and George "Iceman" Woolf of Seabiscuit’s trademark bursts of speed. Under Smith’s training and care, Seabiscuit would defeat the Triple Crown champion, War Admiral, by four lengths in the most famous match race in history. |
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Seabiscuit, An American Legend the best selling book by Laura Hillenbrand | |||
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An American Experience documentary, "Seabiscuit," premiering on
PBS Monday, April 21, 2003, 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), tells the
story of the unlikely champion who became America's hero and of the men
who nurtured his potential and drove him to superstardom. Weaving
thrilling archival footage of Seabiscuit's major races with commentary by
those who knew his owner, trainer and jockeys, the one-hour documentary by
producer Stephen Ives (The West, Lindbergh) animates Laura
Hillenbrand's best-selling book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend.
Scott Glenn narrates. |
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Tickets are sold out for
the hometown premiere at the Noyo Theatre, Saturday July 19, 2003. |
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