Seabiscuit: An American Legend#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes: Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon. BONUS: This edition contains a Seabiscuit discussion guide and an excerpt from Unbroken. Praise for Seabiscuit “Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only with a vivid portrait of a horse but a fascinating slice of American history as well.”—The New York Times “Engrossing . . . Fast-moving . . . More than just a horse’s tale, because the humans who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit are equally fascinating. . . . [Laura Hillenbrand] shows an extraordinary talent for describing a horse race so vividly that the reader feels like the rider.”—Sports Illustrated “REMARKABLE . . . MEMORABLE . . . JUST AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1938.”—The Washington Post |
From inside the book
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Page xviii
... miles , carried staggering weight to victory against the best horses in the country , and shattered more than a dozen track records . His controversial rivalry with Triple Crown winner War Admiral culminated in a spectacular match race ...
... miles , carried staggering weight to victory against the best horses in the country , and shattered more than a dozen track records . His controversial rivalry with Triple Crown winner War Admiral culminated in a spectacular match race ...
Page 6
... miles per hour . But by 1903 , automotive horsepower had greatly improved- one car averaged 65.3 mph in a cross - European race that season - making the races a good spectacle . It also made for astronomical casualty rates . The ...
... miles per hour . But by 1903 , automotive horsepower had greatly improved- one car averaged 65.3 mph in a cross - European race that season - making the races a good spectacle . It also made for astronomical casualty rates . The ...
Page 10
... miles north of San Francisco , near a tiny lumber village called Willits . Fulfilling a long- held desire to be a rancher , Howard bought it . Though he stayed in a man- sion in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame whenever he was on ...
... miles north of San Francisco , near a tiny lumber village called Willits . Fulfilling a long- held desire to be a rancher , Howard bought it . Though he stayed in a man- sion in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame whenever he was on ...
Page 11
... miles from the house , Frankie saw a large rock in his path and swerved to avoid it . A front wheel dipped over the side of the canyon and Frankie lost control . The truck flipped head- long into the canyon . No one saw it crash ...
... miles from the house , Frankie saw a large rock in his path and swerved to avoid it . A front wheel dipped over the side of the canyon and Frankie lost control . The truck flipped head- long into the canyon . No one saw it crash ...
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An American Legend Laura Hillenbrand. Tom Smith ( AP / WIDE WOR WORLD PHOTOS ) Chapter 2 THE LONE PLAINSMAN everal hundred miles south of.
An American Legend Laura Hillenbrand. Tom Smith ( AP / WIDE WOR WORLD PHOTOS ) Chapter 2 THE LONE PLAINSMAN everal hundred miles south of.
Contents
3 | |
19 | |
31 | |
The Cougar and the Iceman | 49 |
A Boot on One Foot a Toe Tag on the Other | 65 |
Light and Shadow | 83 |
Learn Your Horse | 99 |
Gravity | 127 |
Fortunes Fool | 217 |
The Dingbustingest Contest You Ever Clapped an Eye On | 239 |
Deal | 251 |
The Second Civil War | 265 |
All Four of His Legs Are Broken | 281 |
A Long Hard Pull | 295 |
Four Good Legs Between Us | 303 |
One Hundred Grand | 317 |
War Admiral | 141 |
No Pollard No Seabiscuit | 155 |
All I Need Is Luck | 173 |
Hardball | 183 |
The Wise We Boys | 199 |
Epilogue | 329 |
Acknowledgments | 341 |
Notes | 349 |
Index | 385 |
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Common terms and phrases
Admiral Admiral's asked backstretch barn Bay Meadows Beckwith began Belmont Bill Buck Biscuit bug boys called career Charles Howard clockers colt crowd cuit Daily Racing Form Fair Knightess fans February Fitzsimmons gallop George Woolf grandstand groom hands head homestretch horse horse's horsemen Howard and Smith hundred-grander Irwin January jockey jockey's Kayak knew Kurtsinger later Ligaroti looked Luther Marcela March match race mile Morning Telegraph/Daily Racing never paddock Pimlico pounds press box pulled purse racetrack rail Red Pollard reporters Riddle ride rider rode Rosemont saddle San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Examiner Santa Anita Handicap Seabis Seabiscuit shed row speed sport stall starter stewards stood story Telegraph/Daily Racing Form telephone interview Thoroughbred Tijuana told Tom Smith took track record trainer Turf turn Vanderbilt walked wanted War Admiral watched weight Whichcee winner wire workout York York Journal American Yummy