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Actual Newspaper Writeup by Grantland Rice:
Seabiscuit Tops Admiral By Three Lengths Before Pimlico Crowd of 40,000
Sets Track Record And Shows Superior Speed And Courage Over Mile-And-Three-Sixteenths Route
Rises To Second Place In Turf Earnings, With Total of $340,000 -- Rice Says Victor Is Gamest That Ever
A little horse with the heart of a lion and the flying feet of a gazelle yesterday proved his place as the gamest thoroughbred that ever raced over an American track. In one of the greatest match races ever run in the ancient history of the turf, the valiant Seabiscuit not only conquered the great War Admiral but, beyond this, he ran the beaten son of Man o' War into the dirt and dust of Pimlico.
Breaks Pimlico Track Record
Head and head around the last far turn, Seabiscuit, ably ridden by George Woolf, beat War Admiral by a full three lengths down the last furlong with a dazzling burst of speed that not only cracked the heart of the Admiral but, in addition, broke the track record, set by Pompoon. Seabiscuit took a fifth of a second from the track record, which he now holds at 1.56 3-5. The drama and the melodrama of this match race, held before a record crowd keyed to the highest tension I have seen in sport, set an all-time mark.
No Emotional Outburst At Post
You must get the picture from the start to absorb the thrill of this perfect autumn day over a perfect track. As the two thoroughbreds paraded to the post there was no emotional outburst. The big crowd was too full of tension, the type of tension that locks the human throat. You looked at the odds flashed upon the mutual board -- War Admiral 1 to 4, Seabiscuit 2 to 1. Even those backing War Admiral, the great majority of the crowd, felt their pity for the son of Hard Tack and Swing On, who had come along the hard way and had churned up the dust of almost every track from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, from the Atlantic to Pacific.
After two false walking starts, they were off. But it wasn't the fast-flying War Admiral who took the lead. It was Seabiscuit, taking the whip from Woolf, who got the jump. It was Seabiscuit who had a full length lead as they passed the first furlong. The Admiral's supporters were dazed as the 'Biscuit not only held this lead, but increased it to two lengths before they passed the first quarter.
Admiral Moves Up
The 'Biscuit was moving along as smoothly as a Southern breeze. And then the first roar of the big crowd swept over Maryland. The Admiral was moving up. Stride by stride, Man o' War's favorite offspring was closing up the open gap. You could hear the roar from thousands of throats -- "Here he comes -- here he comes!" And the Admiral was under full steam. He cut away a length. He cut away another length as they came to the half-mile post -- and now they were running head and head. The Admiral looked Seabiscuit in the eye at the three-quarters -- but Seabiscuit never got the look. He was too busy running, with his shorter, faster stride. For almost a half mile they ran as one horse, painted against the green, red and orange foliage of a Maryland countryside. They were neck and neck -- head and head -- nose and nose.
Seabiscuit Refuses to Quit
The great Admiral had thrown his challenge. You could see that he expected Seabiscuit to quit and curl up. But Seabiscuit has never been that brand of horse. I had seen him before in two $100,000 races at Santa Anita, boxed out, knocked to his knees, taking the worst of all the racing luck -- almost everything except facing a firing squad or a machine-gun nest -- and yet, through all this barrage of trouble, Seabiscuit was always there, challenging at the wire. I saw him run the fastest half-mile ever run at Santa Anita last March, when he had to do it in his pursuit of Stagehand. So, when War Admiral moved up on even terms, and 40,000 throats poured out their tribute to the Admiral, I still knew that the 'Biscuit would be alongside at the finish. The 'Biscuit had come up the hard way. That happens to be the only way worth while. The Admiral had only known the softer years -- the softer type of competition. He had never met before a combination of a grizzly bear and a running fool.
Head and Head
Head and head they came to the mile. There wasn't a short conceded putt between them. It was a question now of the horse that had the heart. Seabiscuit had lost his two-length margin. His velvet had been shot away. He was on his own where all races are won -- down in the stretch. He had come to the great kingdom of all sport -- the kingdom of heart. The Admiral had shown his reserve speed. From two lengths away he was now on even terms. But as they passed the mile post with three-sixteenths left -- the vital test --the stretch that always tells the story -- where 40,000 looked for the fleet War Admiral to move away -- there was another story. Seabiscuit was still hanging on. Seabiscuit hadn't quit. With barely more than a final furlong left, the hard-way son of Hard Tack must have said to the Admiral -- "Now let's start running. Let's see who is the better horse."
Start to Move Away
Foot by foot and yard by yard, Woolf and Seabiscuit started moving away. Charlie Kurtsinger gave the Admiral the whip. But you could see from the stands that Admiral suddenly knew that he had nothing left in heart or feet to match this wild, crazy five-year-old who all his life had known only the uphill, knockdown, devil-take-the-loser route, any track -- any distance -- any weight -- any time. And who the hell are you?
War Admiral had no answer. Down the final furlong the great-hearted 'Biscuit put on extra speed. He moved on by. Then he opened a small gap. Forty thousand expected the Admiral to move up; close the gap again. But the Admiral was through. He had run against too many plow horses and plasters in his soft, easy life. He had never tackled a Seabiscuit before. He had never met a horse who could look him in the eye down the stretch and say to him, in horse language -- "Now let's start traveling, kid. How do you feel? I feel great. This is down my alley."
Admiral is Outrun
Yard by yard Seabiscuit moved on ahead. Then it was length by length. Seabiscuit left the Admiral so far behind that it wasn't even a contest down the stretch. War Admiral might just as well have been chasing a will o' the wisp in a midnight swamp. He might just as well have been a fat poodle chasing a meat wagon. He had been outrun and outgamed -- he had been run off the track by a battered 5-year-old who had more speed and heart. The race, they say, isn't to the swift. But it is always to the swift and the game. It so happened that Seabiscuit had these two important qualities. The hard-way son of Hard Tack had these qualities in deep abundance. War Admiral could match neither flying feet nor fighting heart. Men o' War's brilliant son hung on with all he had until it came to the big showdown -- to the point when the hard-way thoroughbred, the horse from the wrong side of the track, began really to run. As a result of this race, Seabiscuit moved up into second place for total lifetime winnings with $340,000 -- just back of Sun Beau with $376,244. But there is only one Seabiscuit -- The next one to him is Exterminator. These have been the two great horses, year by year, of the American turf. I nominate Seabiscuit for heart and speed, for all it takes at the top for one of the greatest competitive efforts I have ever seen in a matter of forty years. Quite a horse, this Seabiscuit. Name me a better, gamer, or faster one over the route.
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