An introduction to the life and career of Seabiscuit, the race horse who set sixteen track records and won more prize money than any other horse.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes: Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon. BONUS: This edition contains a Seabiscuit discussion guide and an excerpt from Unbroken. Praise for Seabiscuit “Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only with a vivid portrait of a horse but a fascinating slice of American history as well.”—The New York Times “Engrossing . . . Fast-moving . . . More than just a horse’s tale, because the humans who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit are equally fascinating. . . . [Laura Hillenbrand] shows an extraordinary talent for describing a horse race so vividly that the reader feels like the rider.”—Sports Illustrated “REMARKABLE . . . MEMORABLE . . . JUST AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1938.”—The Washington Post

Award-winning nonfiction picture book creator Meghan McCarthy tells the story of how an undersized, crooked-legged horse became one of the greatest racing champions of all time. In the late 1930s, times were tough. The United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, and people were desperate for something to believe in. They found their inspiration in Seabiscuit, a rags-to-riches, crooked-legged, overweight horse who ran more like a duck than a champion. Seabiscuit was the descendent of Man O’ War, one of the greatest racing horses in history but he had yet to win a single race. How did this downtrodden horse come to rise through the ranks and face off against Triple Crown champion, War Admiral? In her trademark easy-to-follow narrative voice, Meghan McCarthy brings the ultimate underdog story to life in this fact-filled picture book.

In a monumental and important work for the Thoroughbred industry, author and pedigree researcher Avalyn Hunter provides extensive pedigree analysis of every American classic race winner from 1914 through 2002.

Describes the life and accomplishments of the race horse Seabiscuit, who thrived with a loving jockey and trainer and won the hearts of millions around the country.

Documents the life story of a record-breaking champion horse whose disabilities nearly caused his euthanasia at birth, in an account that also describes the contributions of his shopkeeper owner and alcoholic driver. 50,000 first printing.

During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. Moving and inspirational, "Come on Seabiscuit!" is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion.

Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion is the first complete story of the legendary thoroughbred who captured the heart of a nation. Noted track writer B. K. Beckwith called Seabiscuit’s career a saga because, like a Greek myth or beloved fairy tale, it is the tale of a forgotten, abused animal who was rescued, fought his way to the top of horse racing, stumbled, and then returned for a spectacular victory. First published in 1940, when Seabiscuit and all the major characters were alive, its pages sparkle with stories about the great horse: the moment when trainer Tom Smith noticed the emaciated bay in a cheap claims race at Saratoga Springs, the events that led Charles Howard to take a chance and buy the “raced-out” three-year old colt with bad legs, and the exhilarating accounts from jockeys Red Pollard and George “Iceman’ Woolf of Seabiscuit’s trademark bursts of speed. Under Smith s training and care, Seabiscuit would defeat the Triple Crown champion, War Admiral, by four lengths in the most famous match race in history. Featuring period photographs and specially commissioned artwork by Howard Brodie, Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion follows the thoroughbred’s illustrious career, from his humble birth in Kentucky to his remarkable string of races across the country from 1936 to 1940, and culminating in his stunning victory at Santa Anita, a moment that confirmed Seabiscuit as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. “His courage, honesty, and physical prowess definitely place him among the thoroughbred immortals of turf history. He has intelligence and understanding almost spiritual in quality, and all of us who are close to ‘Biscuit’ naturally have the deepest affection for him.”—Charles S. Howard, Owner “Seabiscuit is the greatest horse I ever rode.”—George Woolf, Hall of Fame Jockey

In The Ghost Horse, Joe Layden tells the inspiring true tale of a one-eyed, club-footed thoroughbred racehorse and a journeyman trainer, Tim Snyder, who scraped together every penny he had to purchase the broken and unwanted filly. Snyder helped the horse overcome its deficiencies, eventually naming her in part after his deceased wife, Lisa, the great and only love of his life—a bright and sweet-tempered woman whose gentle demeanor seemed eerily reflected in the horse. The trainer (and now owner) was by nature a crusty and combative sort, the yin to his wife's yang, a racetrack lifer not easily moved by new-age mysticism or sentiment. And yet in those final days back in 2003, when Lisa Snyder lay in bed, her body ravaged by cancer, she reassured her family with a weak smile. "It's okay," she'd say. "I'll see you again. I'm coming back as a horse." Tim Snyder did not then believe in reincarnation. But he acknowledged the strangeness of this journey, the series of coincidences that brought them together, and the undeniable similarities between the horse and his late wife. And so did those who knew the couple well, and who could now only marvel at the story of the filly, Lisa's Booby Trap, and the down-on-his-luck trainer who apparently had been given a new lease on life. The Ghost Horse is a powerful horseracing story of underdogs and second chances.