Horses Frozen in Time – Seabiscuit
January 16th 2012 06:49
Horses Frozen in Time – Seabiscuit
A contribution for Thoroughbreds Worldwide and RacingWrite by Vicki L Vinson.
words & photography by Vicki L Vinson & Sue Rosenbach
Horses Frozen in Time – Seabiscuit
My favorite race horse statue has to be Seabiscuit at my home track of Santa Anita. Aside from the horses belonging to the early television cowboys, Seabiscuit was probably the most well-known horse to me as a child. After all there was that classic movie from 1949 entitled The Story of Seabiscuit staring Shirley Temple and I saw his statue every time I went to the races with my dad. Even as a young child I already knew Seabiscuit was a true legend in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing.
Seabiscuit statue in the walking ring at Santa Anita Park
Originally two statues of Seabiscuit were cast by western artist Hughlette “Tex” Wheeler in 1940-41 while Seabiscuit was still alive. One of the statues stood proudly on a granite pedestal at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, CA until the passing of Seabiscuit’s owner Charles Howard at which time it was placed in storage and later donated by the family to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY. The other statue is the one pictured above at Santa Anita and was unveiled by Seabiscuit himself in February 1941. That statue has been moved around from time to time in the paddock area but is back where it belongs in the walking ring where between races fans often get up close to have their photo taken with the champ. In June of 2007 a replica was made of the statue standing in New York and unveiled back home at Ridgewood Ranch.
Granite pedestal engraving of Seabiscuit statue in Saratoga Springs, NY
Plaque on Seabiscuit statue at Santa Anita
Seabiscuit is by the sire Hard Tack making him a grandson of the great Man o’ War and he is out of the mare Whisk Broom II. Today race horses can travel long distances by airplanes but back in Seabiscuit’s time they were often transported by the railroad system. That didn’t slow Seabiscuit down as he traveled across country often making whistle stops to visit with the fans along the way as he ventured out of his home state of California to race. One of his best known races was a match race in 1938 against the Triple Crown winner War Admiral that took place at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland we don’t have to tell you that Seabiscuit won. Perhaps his most famous race though was his last in 1940 when coming back from injury he won the Santa Anita Handicap in his third try. While owned by Charles Howard Seabiscuit was trained by Tom Smith and his jockeys included Red Pollard and George Woolf. Seabiscuit ended his career with purse earnings of $437,730 with a race record of 89-33-15-13.
Seabisicuit is often adorned with a blanket of flowers to help celebrate big race days
In 2001 Seabiscuit found a rebirth in his popularity with the release of the book Seabiscuit An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. Shortly thereafter the movie rights to the book were sold. I was more than excited when I had the chance to be an unpaid extra in the movie for a couple of days while it filmed at Santa Anita. Now everyone knows Seabiscuit is truly an American Legend!
Note: They have even named the tram tour at Santa Anita after Seabiscuit so stay tuned for a follow up story on that in the future. A special thanks to Sue Rosenbach for the photo from Saratoga Springs.
A contribution for Thoroughbreds Worldwide and RacingWrite by Vicki L Vinson.
words & photography by Vicki L Vinson & Sue Rosenbach
Horses Frozen in Time – Seabiscuit
My favorite race horse statue has to be Seabiscuit at my home track of Santa Anita. Aside from the horses belonging to the early television cowboys, Seabiscuit was probably the most well-known horse to me as a child. After all there was that classic movie from 1949 entitled The Story of Seabiscuit staring Shirley Temple and I saw his statue every time I went to the races with my dad. Even as a young child I already knew Seabiscuit was a true legend in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing.
Seabiscuit statue in the walking ring at Santa Anita Park
Originally two statues of Seabiscuit were cast by western artist Hughlette “Tex” Wheeler in 1940-41 while Seabiscuit was still alive. One of the statues stood proudly on a granite pedestal at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, CA until the passing of Seabiscuit’s owner Charles Howard at which time it was placed in storage and later donated by the family to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY. The other statue is the one pictured above at Santa Anita and was unveiled by Seabiscuit himself in February 1941. That statue has been moved around from time to time in the paddock area but is back where it belongs in the walking ring where between races fans often get up close to have their photo taken with the champ. In June of 2007 a replica was made of the statue standing in New York and unveiled back home at Ridgewood Ranch.
Granite pedestal engraving of Seabiscuit statue in Saratoga Springs, NY
Plaque on Seabiscuit statue at Santa Anita
Seabiscuit is by the sire Hard Tack making him a grandson of the great Man o’ War and he is out of the mare Whisk Broom II. Today race horses can travel long distances by airplanes but back in Seabiscuit’s time they were often transported by the railroad system. That didn’t slow Seabiscuit down as he traveled across country often making whistle stops to visit with the fans along the way as he ventured out of his home state of California to race. One of his best known races was a match race in 1938 against the Triple Crown winner War Admiral that took place at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland we don’t have to tell you that Seabiscuit won. Perhaps his most famous race though was his last in 1940 when coming back from injury he won the Santa Anita Handicap in his third try. While owned by Charles Howard Seabiscuit was trained by Tom Smith and his jockeys included Red Pollard and George Woolf. Seabiscuit ended his career with purse earnings of $437,730 with a race record of 89-33-15-13.
Seabisicuit is often adorned with a blanket of flowers to help celebrate big race days
In 2001 Seabiscuit found a rebirth in his popularity with the release of the book Seabiscuit An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. Shortly thereafter the movie rights to the book were sold. I was more than excited when I had the chance to be an unpaid extra in the movie for a couple of days while it filmed at Santa Anita. Now everyone knows Seabiscuit is truly an American Legend!
Note: They have even named the tram tour at Santa Anita after Seabiscuit so stay tuned for a follow up story on that in the future. A special thanks to Sue Rosenbach for the photo from Saratoga Springs.
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