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SEABISCUIT: THE TRUE STORY (A&E)
The perfect hero for his time, SEABISCUIT was the model of perseverance and an unlikely success; he was a struggling and unfashionable galloper in a world of effortless, elegant animals. Sold for a song, he was given a new trainer and jockey and embarked on the unlikely run that saw him claim the title of, "Horse-of-the-Year". From the pony companion that shared his stall to the fascination that the President had with the horse - he is rumored to have delayed/refused the start of a cabinet meeting until he heard the end of a race.
SEABISCUIT is a moving portrait of the animal that won over a nation. This is the true story of the amazing racehorse that lost his first 16 races before galloping into glory and becoming so famous that he garnered more newspaper coverage in 1938 than any other individual - man or beast - including FDR and Hitler...and in 2003 had a feature film made about him.
SEABISCUIT and the jockey, trainer, and owner who guided him, all had to overcome hardship as we see in this documentary. SEABISCUIT was the perfect hero during the Depression: he was on a downward spiral with a series of non-stop losses until he was taken over by a new owner, a new trainer and a new jockey. He then soared to become a national icon with his triumphant match race victory over 1937 Triple Crown Winner, WAR ADMIRAL, to his astonishing comeback in the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap...finally winning it after a third try when everyone thought he was all washed up! SEABISCUIT is the inspiring story of a horse that, with an extraordinary trio of men, overcame obscurity and hardship to become the biggest name in sports. And it's a story that goes way beyond sports.
Equally remarkable is the team who made SEABISCUIT a legend - his owner, automobile magnate Charles Howard; the famously silent and stubborn trainer, Tom Smith; and lightning fast rider George Woolf. His primary jockey was John "Red" Pollard, a half blind and hard bitten ex-prizefighter with an enormous vocabulary and a wry wit whose fierce loyalty to his horse and fearlessness in the saddle would make racing history. Separately, Pollard and SEABISCUIT were nothing more than a failing jockey and a broken down horse...together, they became hard-luck heroes for a troubled nation.
SEABISCUIT so captivated the public that as many as 40 million people listened to him race on the radio and thousands traveled across the country just to see him. It's no surprise that this incredible story became a runaway best-selling book and has leaped to the big-screen in the form of a major Hollywood movie.
This documentary illuminates the precarious economic conditions that defined America in the 1930's, and among other things, explores the world of Thoroughbred horse exploitation in the name of greed. Many will say that the tale of SEABISCUIT is so appealing because he was everyone's horse...America's horse...the blue-collar worker who overcame incredible odds and who gave everyone hope.
(50 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 537 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | U.S. & Canadian Flat Racing |