American Experience

Timeline: Seabiscuit

1665-1936 | 1937-2001

1937	February 27: In his first try at the Santa Anita Handicap, Seabiscuit loses to Rosemont by a nose, in a photo finish. March 6: Seabiscuit draws a crowd of 45,000 excited fans and wins the San Juan Capistrano Handicap by seven lengths, smashing the track record. May 6: The German airship Hindenburg bursts into flames as it is about to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. A reporter on the scene describes the horrific event to a live radio audience. May 22: Seabiscuit wins the Bay Meadows Handicap. May 29: Seabiscuit heads to the East Coast, to prove himself in the home of racing's prestige. June 5: War Admiral captures the Triple Crown after a win at the Belmont Stakes, despite stumbling at the start and injuring his right foreleg. June 26: Seabiscuit runs in the Brooklyn Handicap, beating rival Rosemont and local horse Aneroid. Eastern writers who had previously called him "Glorified Plater" are now reluctantly quieted. July: Seabiscuit wins the Butler Handicap and the Yonkers Handicap easily, despite carrying far more weight than his competitors in both races. September 11: At the Narragansett Special in Rhode Island, Seabiscuit finishes third due to muddy track conditions, ending the winning streak of his Eastern assault. October 12: Seabiscuit wins the Continental Handicap in New York, gaining the top spot in the 1937 winnings race with $152,780 earned, $8,000 ahead of War Admiral. October 30: Seabiscuit and War Admiral are slated to meet on the track, but Seabiscuit is scratched from the Washington Handicap due to muddy track conditions, allowing an easy victory for his rival. November 3: Seabiscuit is again scratched when Smith pulls him out from Pimlico Special after a ten-day downpour. War Admiral wins again. November 5: War Admiral is scratched from the Riggs Handicap and Seabiscuit wins easily, breaking the track record while carrying a startling 130 pounds. With the win, Seabiscuit now moves past War Admiral in earnings by $9,000. Mid-November: Seabiscuit begins the train journey back to California, stopping along the way to appear for his adoring fans. December 7: Following a near-collision with another horse and rider at Tanforan Race Track in California, Pollard is suspended from racing at Tanforan for the remainder of 1937. In the wake of the devastating suspension, War Admiral is named horse of the year by Turf and Sport Digest. December 22: Pollard is suspended by the California Horse Racing Commission from riding on any California track until January 1, 1938. Furious at the harsh judgment, Howard pulls Seabiscuit out of races until Pollard's suspension is over.
1938	January: Howard scratches Seabiscuit from the New Year's Handicap and the San Pasqual Handicap after the horse is assigned a heavy impost of 132 pounds for both races. February 1: California police uncover a plot to harm Seabiscuit by placing a sponge up his nose to obstruct his breathing. The "sponging" accusation is front-page news. February 19: Smith scratches Seabiscuit from his fourth straight race, the San Carlos Handicap, because of rain the night before. Pollard makes the fateful choice to ride Fair Knightess, and the horse falls, crushing the left side of Pollard's chest. March 5: In Seabiscuit's second appearance at the Santa Anita "hundred-grander," George Woolf rides the bay colt as Pollard, recuperating from his fall, watches from the stands. Trapped at the start by Count Atlas, Seabiscuit loses to Stagehand in a photo finish. Despite the loss, many consider Seabiscuit's performance the greatest in racing history and attribute his loss only to the weight system and a foul by another horse. March 27: Seabiscuit makes a celebrity entrance in Tijuana for the Agua Caliente Handicap. Americans flood the border and overwhelm Tijuana, hoping to watch the race. Seabiscuit wins easily. April 13: Howard and War Admiral's owner, Samuel Riddle, agree on terms for a match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. The race is set for May 30 at Belmont, War Admiral's home track. Howard lures Riddle into the agreement with favorable conditions for War Admiral and a $100,000 purse. April 16: Seabiscuit cruises to a new track record in the Bay Meadows Handicap despite carrying 133 pounds, the highest weight assigned to a horse in modern California racing. May 4: Seabiscuit and War Admiral pose for a photo session as New York publicity reaches a frenzy. May 20: Seabiscuit is slow during his workout, prompting rumors that something is wrong with him. May 24: Howard scratches Seabiscuit from the match race at Belmont following his diminished performance and possible injury. May 28: War Admiral is slated to run at the Suburban Handicap but is scratched on the day of the race for no apparent reason. June 23: Pollard agrees to work a friend's colt, Modern Youth. The horse, spooked, leaves the track at breakneck speed and crashes into a barn. Pollard's leg is crushed. June 29: Smith scratches Seabiscuit from the Massachusetts Handicap at the last minute upon discovering the horse has a leg injury. July 4: Seabiscuit places second in the Stars and Stripes Handicap, leading spectators to believe that his best days are behind him. Following the race Seabiscuit heads home to California. July 16: Seabiscuit beats Specify and wins the Hollywood Gold Cup, breaking a track record and reestablishing his prominence. George Woolf brings Seabiscuit from 14 lengths behind to win the race. August 12: Seabiscuit beats Ligaroti, a horse co-owned by Bing Crosby and Howard's son Lin, in a match race at Del Mar. October 5: The rescheduled match between Seabiscuit and War Admiral is announced for November 1. The horses will meet at Pimlico in Maryland. October 30: Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, the tale of a Martian invasion on Earth, creates panic among listeners who mistake it for news. November 1: The long-anticipated match race is run. With 40 million listeners tuned in across the country, Seabiscuit beats War Admiral by four lengths in just over a minute fifty-six for the mile and three-sixteenths, a new Pimlico track record. December 31: Gossip columnist Walter Winchell includes Seabiscuit with Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler as one of the top ten newsmakers of the year.
1939	February 14: Seabiscuit injures his suspensory ligament in a prep race for Santa Anita. April: Red Pollard and his former nurse, Agnes Conlon, are married. Summer: Pollard and Seabiscuit recover from their injuries together. September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany.
1940	January 30: Howard scratches Seabiscuit from the San Felipe Handicap because of mud. February 9: Seabiscuit comes in third to Heelfly and Woolf in the La Jolla Handicap. February 17: Seabiscuit finishes fourth in the San Carlos Handicap. February 24: Seabiscuit wins the San Antonio Handicap, matching the track's record time. March 2: Seabiscuit wins in his third try at the $100,000 Santa Anita Handicap. He clocks the fastest mile-and-a quarter in Santa Anita's history, the second fastest ever run in America. The most people ever to attend an American horse race -- 75,000 -- watch as Pollard leads Seabiscuit from behind to victory. April 10: Seabiscuit retires to Charles Howard's Ridgewood Ranch. November: Franklin Roosevelt is reelected president for a third term.
1942	December 2: Almost two years after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and the U.S. enters World War II, University of Chicago physicist Enrico Fermi and colleagues produce the world's first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction.
1943	Tom Smith begins a long convalescence following back surgery. He leaves Charles Howard's employ on friendly terms and goes to work for Elizabeth Arden Graham, the cosmetics magnate and horse owner. Citation becomes the first horse to win over $1 million. May 1: Count Fleet wins the Kentucky Derby. Living with wartime restrictions on car use, racing fans are discouraged from traveling to the race, which is called the "Streetcar Derby."
1944	In the midst of war, Franklin Roosevelt is reelected to a fourth term.
1945	April 12: President Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage, and Vice President Harry Truman enters the Oval Office. August 6: President Truman announces that an American bomber, the Enola Gay, has dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. August 14: V-J Day: the end of war with Japan. After World War II, American interest in horse racing starts to increase.
1946	January 3: George Woolf dies in a racing accident at Santa Anita.
1947	May 17: Seabiscuit dies at age 14. He is buried in secret at Ridgewood. November: Man o 'War, the greatest Thoroughbred of all time, dies at the age of 26. As he lies in state, thousands come to mourn.
1950	Charles Howard dies.
1955	George Woolf is inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.
1957	Tom Smith dies.
1958	Seabiscuit is inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.
1964	Kelso is named Horse of the Year for the fifth straight year. He is the only horse in history to win the title five times.
1968	Dr. Fager sets the world record for the mile at 1 minute 32 and 1/5 seconds.
1973	Secretariat is the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter century. He secures the first two races by modest margins, but wins the Belmont Stakes by an amazing 31 lengths.
1977	Affirmed, a descendant of War Admiral, begins a rivalry with Alydar -- one of the greatest in the sport.
1978	Affirmed wins the Triple Crown.
1981	Red Pollard dies.
1984	The Breeders' Cup is run for the first time.
1987	Marcela Howard dies.
1996	Cigar, the all-time money winner, retires at the end of the season. His career earnings total nearly $10 million.
2001	Seabiscuit's trainer Tom Smith is inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.

1665-1936 | 1937-2001

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