The 2014-15 season at Santa Anita Park promises many memorable moments but perhaps none as special to the diehard fan as what will take place on Saturday, March 7.
On that date the 78th running of the Santa Anita Handicap will ensue. It will also mark the 75th anniversary of Seabiscuit’s farewell to the American sporting scene.
Since the track opened on Christmas Day in 1934, no horse has captured the bettor’s imagination quite like “The Biscuit.” Charles S. Howard’s prize equine raced 11 times at Arcadia, in an 89-race career spanning 1935 to 1940.
And it can truly be said that the pairing of Seabiscuit and Santa Anita was a match made in heaven for both parties.
Seabiscuit’s performances at Santa Anita pushed him to the forefront of thoroughbreds and generated tremendous fan interest in the sport — and in Arcadia’s Great Race Place.
In fact, if there’s ever been a race horse who was also a media star, it was Seabiscuit. And how appropriate he found fame’s spotlight on a track founded by Hollywood producer Hal Roach.
The legend of Seabiscuit has taken a life of its own, especially in wake of Laura Hillenbrand’s 2001 runaway best-seller. But the horse’s history isn’t really a rag to riches story. It’s a tale of a great athlete who took his own sweet time fulfilling his potential.
There was certainly nothing deficient about Seabiscuit’s bloodlines. The grandson of Man o’ War was sired by Hard Tack, a spirited campaigner in his own right. And, initially, Seabiscuit was trained by the legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons.
Fitzsimmons, like all good trainers, respected the colt’s bloodlines and his times in morning workouts. But there were two concerns: It was obvious early on that Seabiscuit was undersized, and that a deformed front leg raised a red flag about his durability.
Fitzsimmons’ solution was to run the colt, early and often. By the time he was two, Seabiscuit had been raced 35 times. He won five of those races, but finished out of the money in 21.
Enter Charles S. Howard and his trainer, Tom Smith. Smith had an open invitation to find new talent and saw Seabiscuit run in a minor race in New York., Despite the bad leg and the fact Biscuit ran like “an eggbeater,” Smith liked what he saw and a deal was arranged.
To acquire the then 3-year-old, Howard paid $8,000. It seems like a pittance by current-day standards but in the Great Depression $8,000 wasn’t chump change.
Smith made a couple adjustments in Seabiscuit’s diet and training routine, but more importantly found the right rider in Red Pollard. The pair bounded, and results were quickly apparent.
As a 4-year-old, Seabiscuit won 11 out of 15 races. One he didn’t win was 1937’s $125,000 Santa Anita Handicap, Pollard guided him to the front of the pack down the stretch and let up, allowing Rosemont to catch up and win by a head. Afterward, Pollard admitted he had made a mistake, that he lost sight of Rosemont. The honesty of the jockey and the obvious talent of Seabiscuit made many new fans, especially among the L.A. sportswriters who were clearly fascinated by the unlikely trio of Smith, Pollard and Seabiscuit.
Howard vowed to return his star for the 1938 Big ‘Cap and made good on his promise.
However, in the 1938 race Seabiscuit was bumped at the start and then impeded and trapped in a pack of also-rans. George Woolf, replacing the injured Red Pollard in the irons, did a masterful job of getting his horse back in the race. But Seabiscuit, carrying top weight of 130 pounds, had expended too much energy and was edged at the wire by Stagehand.
It was yet another heartbreaking loss for Howard & Co., but did nothing to deter the swelling national media frenzy over the horse, which included a featured “role” in a Warner Bros. cartoon, “Porky and Teabiscuit.” That frenzy was further fueled when later that year Seabiscuit bested Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a match race. That event marked one of only two times in Seabiscuit’s final 30 races when he did not go off as the bettors’ favorite.
Once again, Howard promised to bring The Biscuit back for a third try in 1939.
However, on Feb. 14 in the Los Angeles Handicap, a warmup to the 1939 Big ‘Cap, Seabiscuit ruptured a suspensory ligament in his right ankle and pulled up. The injury kept him out of the 1939 Big ‘Cap and put his future as a racer in doubt.
As it turned out, the injury kept Seabiscuit sidelined for nearly a year. He returned to action at Santa Anita on Feb. 9, 1940. Two weeks later he was entered in the 6th annual $121,000 SA Handicap, as rumors flew that the race would be his grand finale, regardless of the outcome.
With Red Pollard back at the reins, Seabiscuit went off as the 3-5 favorite despite carrying top weight of 130 pounds. Before a crowd in excess of 70,000 — the largest ever at the Arcadia track up to that time — Seabiscuit avoided trouble in the first turn, the same situation that cost him the 1938 ‘Cap, and galloped to a 2 1/2-length win over stablemate Kayak II.
On April 10, Howard made it official. He was retiring Seabiscuit to stud.
Seabiscuit finished a notably long and busy career with 89 races, at 16 different distances. He won 33 of those races, finished second 15 times and third once. He earned $437,730, a nifty return on Howard’s initial $8,000 investment.
The statue of Biscuit was erected in Santa Anita’s walking ring in 1941. Seabiscuit passed away in 1947, but his legend seems unlikely to fade in the stretch.
