Seabiscuit

It was late; I was damn tired and smelled worse than a dead cow. Haywagon my trusty four legged companion was breathing heavy and about ready to drop. All of a sudden a voice came out of thin air,

“Mr. you better be wearing and you better be quicker than grease lightning.”


Wait a minute!


I’m not ready to tell this story, this comes later. I’ve been waiting all day to tell you about Seabiscuit. I saw the movie. "WOW"!I've been reminiscing again. Memories are priceless.

As a horse lover and child during the depression of the thirties I can recall many stories about Seabiscuit who set the American epic of triumph and perseverance during the Great Depression.

I know my family suffered dearly during this depression. I can remember stories how my grandfather Soren Neve lost millions over night when the stock market crashed.

People were devastated by their losses and mass suicides occurred through out the land. Hitler was killing Jews by the millions and the whole world was in dismay.

Though the world was full of heartbreak and tragedy prevailed, a truly amazing story about a funny looking horse called Seabiscuit emerged.

Exhausted by the everyday struggle of making a living, people were looking for a diversion, and many found it at the racetrack. Seabiscuit was making his debut. He was the most unlikely candidate for a champion on the whole racing scene. He had the appearance of a hay burner, bow legged, crooked knees, and way to short.

Everything seem to be against this four legged critter including his trainer a mustang breaker, and his owner a bicycle repairman, last but not least his jockey was a broken-down prizefighter.

Against all odds this lovely little horse was winning not only races but the hearts of the racing fans the world over. In 1938, a year of world wide turmoil and mass denial, the number one news maker wasn't Franklin Roosevelt or Adolf Hitler. It wasn't even Clark Gable or the Duke… It was an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse. Owned by a bicycle-repairman, trained by a virtually mute, rough-shod, mustang breaker, and ridden by a half-blind has been prizefighter.

The racehorse was Seabiscuit. The American public's fascination with Seabiscuit was mostly fired by an ongoing and misplaced belief that the racehorse was far less capable than he proved to be.

Seabiscuit was regarded as some what of an underdog even long after the smart bets should have been placed on him. Consequently, this "underdog" kept posting impressive victories, which worked to heighten the impression of horse racing fans that they were witnessing nothing short of a four-legged miracle.

Well, by now you’re asking yourselves why Big Daddy Cash is writing an article about all of this. Plain as can be there’s a new movie coming out called Seabiscuit and from the previews I’ve seen it’s going to be the best of 2003.

I seen the first movie about this wonderful horse starring Shirley Temple and I've never forgotten it even though it was mostly fantasy. (Most of you readers are too young to remember Shirley Temple, she was my favorite child actor her and a young lad named Jimmy Boyd.)

Before I end what I have begun here's just a little more trivia on this four legged miracle; In 1938, a match race against War Admiral son of that great champion Man Of War, was sought and arranged. (A match race is a far better test of the abilities of any two horses, because interference of other contestants plays no part in the result.) As to how little the racing world thought of five-and-a-half-year-old Seabiscuit's chances against four-year-old War Admiral, reportedly not a single sportswriter in America voiced the opinion that the little horse from the west would win, and only one of them even dared to opine that Seabiscuit could at least make a close a race of it.

Yet win Seabiscuit did, by four lengths. Seabiscuit died in 1947. His lifetime earnings were $437,730 across a career in which he won 33 races and set 13 track records at eight different tracks over six different distances. Go see this movie this is one you don't want to miss. Who says? Big Daddy Cash cause Big Daddy Knows