Hard Tack was a son of Man o’War, another incredibly successful racehorse that I covered in a separate article. Seabiscuit was sired from a mare named Swing On and sire Hard Tack. Perhaps if he had more time, he could have sired many more, and some of which might have inherited his racing talent entirely. Then again, Seabiscuit didn’t live for very long. To put things in perspective, Secretariat sired no less than 663 named foals. That’s not a lot for a legendary racehorse such as himself. Overall, however, Seabiscuit only managed to sire 108 foals. As is customary with successful racehorses, this one was put to stud, and he even managed to sire two relatively successful steeds: Sea Sovereign and Sea Swallow. He lived out the rest of his days at Ridgewood Ranch near Willits, California. ![]() Seabiscuit retired from racing on April 10, 1940. If you would like to visit his grave, you can find it at Ridgewood Ranch in Mendocino County, California. Therefore, technically speaking at least, Seabiscuit died at the young age of 13. If he had lived just six days more, he would have been 14. He died on May 17, 1947, in Willits, California, most likely of a heart attack. When it comes to Seabiscuit, his time on Earth was relatively short-lived. I’ve mentioned this in my separate article about a horse’s average lifespan. Horses generally live between 25 and 33 years on average. Seabiscuit lived a very short life for a horse. He took home the $121,000 prize, and he received praise from tens of thousands of spectators. He came in third during that first race, but he did win the final and most important one. Together, they regained their strength, and Seabiscuit would race once again on February 9, 1940, in Santa Anita. Pollard was also injured during a race, so the two had quite a bit in common. Indeed, nobody really thought that Seabiscuit would ever race again.Īs luck would have it, he was recovering at the same ranch as Red Pollard, one of his most prominent jockeys. Now, most horses would retire for life in the face of such an injury. Upon inspection by a physician, it was revealed that he had a ruptured suspensory ligament in the front left leg. His rider felt him stumbling and immediately knew something was wrong. Seabiscuit suffered a serious injury but recovered.Īround 1938, Seabiscuit was injured during a race. Success came in a bit later when Seabiscuit received a new trainer – Tom Smith. This all changed when the horse managed to win two races at Narragansett Park and setting a new track record. After he lost his first 17 races, Seabiscuit became the butt of stable jokes, and Fitzsimmons didn’t pay too much attention to him. Initially, Seabiscuit was owned by Wheatley Stable and trained by “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, who considered him too lazy and lethargic. He won only a fourth of his first 40 races, which is far from impressive. ![]() Actually, nobody could have imagined that he would become so successful judging from his career debut. Seabiscuit’s first races did not go well. His racing career had a disappointing start. Considering the horse’s disappointing career start, I’d say that’s not particularly true. Some argued that Seabiscuit’s lower center of mass actually made him more nimble and more maneuverable in the bends. ![]() What he lacked in height, however, he made up in spirit and outstanding fitness. At 15 hands, he was considered a small horse, especially for its breed. In racing, this didn’t provide him with much of an advantage, but it didn’t hinder his progress either. Seabiscuit was the exception to this rule, as he stood only 15 hands tall. Seabiscuit was a thoroughbred, and if you’re a bit familiar with this particular horse breed, you probably know that it averages around 16 hands in height. Here are 8 things you didn’t know about Seabiscuit – American Horse of the Year in 1938. Today, I wanted to share with you some incredible facts about Seabiscuit’s life, facts that you might not be aware of. Numerous books and movies were written about his life, including non-fiction books and fiction films. ![]() He also became an inspiration for hope and better days during the Great Depression. Foaled in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 23, 1933, he went on to become one of the Country’s top money-winning racehorses up to the 1940s. Seabiscuit the horse – a descendant of the legendary Man o’War, and an exceptional race winner, has led an interesting and successful life.
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