Seabiscuit

One of the themes of the book—perhaps its central theme—is to never give up on your dreams, no matter the barriers placed in the way. Hard work and persistence can overcome these barriers. This is not a difficult message to find, as the story of Seabiscuit is full of obstacles on the road to success. This is best shown in the lives of Seabiscuit himself and his jockey, Red Pollard. Seabiscuit was misunderstood and given the wrong training for the first two or three years of his life. Though he had physical gifts, they were not as ample as other champion racehorses and he had a less than classical physique. Most crucially perhaps was the fact that he suffered a serious injury in 1939 that would have ended the careers of most horses. Yet he recovered and went on to win another major race. In terms of Seabiscuit’s reputation, Charles Howard had a hard time getting respect and recognition for his horse from the more established East Coast racing world.

Likewise, Pollard met numerous and significant obstacles that would have caused many others to seek a different line of work. He was not blessed with the greatest skills as a jockey; he kept riding even when an injury blinded him in one eye, risking danger on the track; and he fought through multiple serious injuries to win big again at the Santa Anita Handicap. At any point, he might have given up, but riding was his great love and he stuck with it.