Pollard came from Edmonton, and George was from the Cardston area farther south.Ĭhapter 5 provides background information on the life of a jockey in the first half of the 20th century. Both riders were from the Canadian province of Alberta. The chapter ends with his discovery by Tom Smith, who arranges for Howard to buy Seabiscuit.Ĭhapter 4 introduces John 'Red' Pollard and George 'Iceman' Woolf, two jockeys who were friends throughout their career but eventually parted ways over Seabiscuit. He was also intelligent, lazy, and being brought up in a stable where trainers had no time for him. Seabiscuit was small enough to be mistaken for a pony, shaggy, and awkward-looking. The foal of a mare named Swing On by the fast infamously vicious stallion Hard Tack, who was in turn sired by the legendary Triple Crown winner Man o' War (who also sired War Admiral). He begins working for a barn owner by the name of Irwin, and unlike many of his peers whose strategies were based chiefly on superstition, Smith learns to approach each horse as an individual and to tailor his training approach.Ĭhapter 3 describes Seabiscuit's lineage and early life. It also describes the circumstances under which Howard met and married his second wife, Marcela, and the unusual chain of events that made Howard get involved in horse racing.Ĭhapter 2 discusses the background of Tom Smith, who was a man of few words but a brilliant trainer of horses. It also describes the accidental death of his son, Frankie, in a car accident, the collapse of his first marriage, and the introduction of horse racing to Tijuana in conjunction with the economic effects of Prohibition. Structurally, the book proceeds in chronological order, but breaks away to provide such back-story as is necessary to put Howard, Smith, Pollard, and Woolf's decisions in an appropriate context.Ĭhapter 1 describes Charles Howard's early life, his rags-to-riches career as a bicycle salesman turned automobile dealer and then distributor. The author also depicts three other men who are key to Seabiscuit's story: his owner Charles Howard, his trainer Tom Smith, and his two jockeys John 'Red' Pollard and George Woolf. This book is a history that centers around a very unique horse, Seabiscuit, who was sired by the speedy but temperamental Hard Tack on a mare named Swing On.

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Seabiscuit an american legend book