Seabiscuit During the great depession
By the time the Great Depression descended on the nation, horse racing in the United States was already beginning to fall quickly. It had gone cold during the first decade of the twentieth century, after a series of scandals made it illegal. There had been 300 racetracks nationwide at the turn of the century and by 1908, only 25 remained.
Seabiscuit was a crowd pleaser. Bettors usually cheered a horse by its number. A large percentage of horse fans seemed to connect with Seabiscuit, and he was one of the few horses they rooted for by name.
Fans, struggling to survive in their day-to-day lives, might have identified with the horse because of his underdog status. He had an awkward-looking gait. Because he had been mistreated as a young horse, whipped and raced too much, he had become an under achiever and a steady loser. His greatest success came at a relatively older age. He had what many thought should have been a career ending accident. Still, Seabiscuit came back to win the Santa Anita Handicap with his jockey Red Pollard. Pollard had a hard story as well. That race was his last, and it came in 1940. He ran in a total of 89 races, coming in first at 33 of these. He died at the age of 14.
Seabiscuit was a crowd pleaser. Bettors usually cheered a horse by its number. A large percentage of horse fans seemed to connect with Seabiscuit, and he was one of the few horses they rooted for by name.
Fans, struggling to survive in their day-to-day lives, might have identified with the horse because of his underdog status. He had an awkward-looking gait. Because he had been mistreated as a young horse, whipped and raced too much, he had become an under achiever and a steady loser. His greatest success came at a relatively older age. He had what many thought should have been a career ending accident. Still, Seabiscuit came back to win the Santa Anita Handicap with his jockey Red Pollard. Pollard had a hard story as well. That race was his last, and it came in 1940. He ran in a total of 89 races, coming in first at 33 of these. He died at the age of 14.