Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

Seabiscuit: An American Legend is the ultimate underdog story. Seabiscuit was an unlikely champion; his legs were crooked; he had a sad little tail; and he was precisely the color of mud. For two years, he floundered at the lowest level of racing, misunderstood and mishandled, as slow as growing grass, before his dormant talent was discovered by three men. One was Tom Smith, known as "The Lone Plainsman," a virtually mute mustang breaker who had come from the vanishing frontier, bearing the secrets of horses. One was Red Pollard, a half-blind failed prizefighter and failing jockey who had been living in a horse stall since being abandoned at a makeshift racetrack as a boy. The third was Charles Howard, a former bicycle repairman who made a fortune by introducing the automobile to the American West. Bought for a bargain-basement price by Howard and rehabilitated by Smith and Pollard, Seabiscuit overcame a phenomenal run of bad fortune to become one of the most spectacular, dominant and charismatic performers in sports history. Competing in the cruelest years of the Depression, the rags-to-riches horse emerged as an American cultural icon, drawing an immense and fanatical following, inspiring an avalanche of merchandising, and establishing himself as the single biggest newsmaker of 1938. ~about the book

Horsey Terms

Also Ran - Any selection not finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in a race or event.

Bat -  A jockey's whip.

Blow-out - A short, timed workout of about a mile in distance, usually a day before a race, designed to sharpen the speed of a horse (blow him out).

Breakdown - When a horse suffers a potentially career-ending injury.

Bug Boy - An apprentice rider.

Chalk - Wagering favorite in a race. Dates from the days when on-track bookmakers would write current odds on a chalkboard.

Colors (Colours) - Racing silks, the jacket and cap worn by jockeys. Silks can be generic and provided by the track or specific to one owner.

Fast (track) - Optimum condition for a dirt track that is dry, even, resilient and fast.

Gelding - A male horse that has been castrated.

Hand - Four inches. A horse's height is measured in hands and inches from the top of the shoulder (withers) to the ground, e.g., 15.2 hands is 15 hands, 2 inches. Thoroughbreds typically range from 15 to 17 hands.

Mare - Female horse five-years-old or older.

Nose - Smallest advantage a horse can win by. 

Over The Top - When a horse is considered to have reached its peak for that season.

Place - Finish in the top two

Scratch (Scratching) - To be taken out of a race before it starts.

Show - Third position at the finish.

Sire - Father of a horse.

Wire - The finish line of a race.

Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral - 1938 Match Race