Seabiscuit Defeats War Admiral: Hope Wins the Century's Race
Seabiscuit was a knobby-kneed, undersized thoroughbred that had been used as a workout partner for better horses before trainer Tom Smith saw something in him. On November 1, 1938, Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral, the Triple Crown winner, in a head-to-head match race at Pimlico that 40 million Americans heard on radio, the largest audience for any event to that date. Seabiscuit led from the start and pulled away in the stretch, winning by four lengths. The race electrified a Depression-era nation that identified with the underdog. Seabiscuit earned more newspaper column inches in 1938 than Roosevelt, Hitler, or Mussolini. Owner Charles Howard, trainer Tom Smith, and jockey Red Pollard were all damaged men who had found each other and rebuilt their lives around a horse nobody else wanted.
November 1, 1938
88 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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