65 YEARS AGO, THE GOLD STANDARD WAS SET BY ... SEABISCUIT SEABISCUIT SET STANDARD FOR GOLD CUP; STORY COMING TO BIG SCREEN.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer INGLEWOOD - ``A Long Shot Becomes a Legend,'' the billboard slogan for the soon-to-debut movie ``Seabiscuit,'' is meant to sum up the theatrical sweep of the great thoroughbred's five-year racing career. It also describes a single, two-week frame of his story, the drama surrounding Seabiscuit's performance in the inaugural running of the Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. during Hollywood Park's opening season in 1938. By then, not only were Seabiscuit's long-shot days behind him, he was the reigning champion of the nation's older horses. ``Seabiscuit was my hero,'' says Leonard Dorfman, the 81-year-old trainer who was an off-duty exercise boy when he watched that Gold Cup from the grandstand. ``I remember hollerin' like hell for him coming down the stretch. I don't think people realize what a great race that was.'' But Seabiscuit's metamorphosis from hapless young horse to transcendent star - worthy of Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book and Universal's major movie that opens July 25 - was incomplete when he arrived in Inglewood by rail with trainer ``Silent'' Tom Smith. In fact, many fans feared the 5-year-old was through after he was upset on a muddy track at Chicago's Arlington Park Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks (six) than any other major on the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. , less than two weeks before the Gold Cup, after a series of controversial withdrawals from other races fueled reports of knee problems. Had his career indeed ended right then, he never would have run his match races against Ligaroti (at Del Mar Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Horse of the Year title, never would have suffered his breakdown in training for the 1939 Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during , never would have made his comeback to win the 1940 Big 'Cap in the final start of his life, and never would have become the top money-winner of his era. He never would have faced the unprecedented challenges he encountered in the $55,000 Hollywood Gold Cup held Saturday, July 16, 1938, on the 1-mile oval laid out over a onetime bean field in suburban Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . And he never would have become a legend. ``Yes, sir, the old Biscuit stands at the crossroads,'' newspaperman Jack McDonald Jack McDonald may refer to
n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. and a 2,000-mile train ride, undertaken only 10 days ago, make (him) a huge question mark.'' ``Seabiscuit had to run in a big race,'' Hillenbrand wrote in ``Seabiscuit: An American Legend'' (2001) of the doubts surrounding him 65 years ago, ``and he had to win it.'' The Gold Cup was a big race, rivaling the then-$100,000 Santa Anita Handicap as the biggest in California, where the sport had only recently been revived. It wasn't made any easier by the distance of the race, 1 1/4 miles, longer than any of Seabiscuit's previous victories; by the weight assignments for the handicap race A Handicap race is a horse race where horses carry different weights. A better horse will carry a heavier weight in order to make the race more fair. The purpose of this is to make the races more interesting to bet on, as although one is less likely to win, one will win more if , which forced him to carry 133 pounds, matching his career high and 13 pounds higher than his closest opponent; and by the way the race unfolded. One of Seabiscuit's nine opponents, Hollywood Derby The Hollywood Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses on the turf run each year in December at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. winner Specify, was such a rambunctious colt that the starting crew walked him into the gate last so he wouldn't be required to stand still for too long. As it turned out, the maneuver allowed Specify and jockey Wayne Wright to gain practically a moving start. ``Specify was five lengths in front of the rest of them before they knew what hit them,'' Dorfman said this week from his home in La Verne La Verne (lə vûrn), city (1990 pop. 30,897), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1906. La Verne, which began as a citrus-processing center, now has varied manufacturing, including electronic components, apparel, hand . Seabiscuit and George Woolf George Monroe Woolf (May 10, 1910 – January 4, 1946) was a Canadian-born thoroughbred race horse jockey and the namesake of the annual jockey's award given by the United States Jockeys' Guild. broke slowly, meanwhile, and by the end of the clubhouse turn the 37,150 fans' odds-on favorite was back in ninth place, a dozen lengths behind the runaway leader. Seabiscuit never had rallied from that far back to win a race before. In most of his victories he had set the pace or hung close to it. As owner Charles Howard watched the race, he would say in the aftermath, he couldn't understand why Woolf aimed Seabiscuit to the outside of the field as they moved down the backstretch back·stretch n. The part of an oval racecourse farthest from the spectators and opposite the homestretch. . The explanation was that because a horse named Whichcee was directly in front of Woolf, the jockey couldn't see who was leading the race. Having cleared his line of sight, Woolf realized it was Specify - not the more respected Ligaroti - and delayed his charge. Passing opponents on the turn for home, Seabiscuit was fourth with one-quarter mile to run. As Specify predictably tired and bore toward the grandstand, Woolf cut toward the rail and Seabiscuit surged to the lead. The Biscuit won, going away, by 1 1/2 lengths. Specify was second, Whichcee third, Ligaroti fourth. The time of 2:03 4/5 set a record for the new track. The $37,150 winner's check lifted Seabiscuit's career earnings to $290,350, pushing him into the Depression Era top 10. He would race 10 more times, winning five, and finish with 33 victories in 89 starts and then-record earnings of $437,730. ``The old horse carved out his own definition of equine class,'' McDonald wrote. ``Hollywood Park's first Gold Cup will be remembered as a real thriller.'' Sixty-five years later, Dorfman remembers it clearly. ``It was one of (Seabiscuit's) best races,'' Dorfman said. On Sunday at Hollywood Park, they'll run the 64th Hollywood Gold Cup for a $750,000 purse. There's no Seabiscuit in this year's race, headed by Congaree and Harlan's Holiday, but his legacy will be felt. ``It's something we're very proud of,'' said Allen Gutterman, Hollywood Park's vice president for marketing. ``It places us, appropriately, in history that's now being recognized by the book and the movie (and) validates what we do. Forever, Seabiscuit will have won the first Gold Cup.'' There might not have been a book and a movie if he hadn't. HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP Sunday, 5 p.m. at Hollywood Park (ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network 2) CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Seabiscuit and jockey George Woolf lead War Admiral in the first turn of their match race at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md., in this photo from 1938, the same year Seabiscuit won the first Hollywood Gold Cup. (2 -- color) Seabiscuit, here with jockey Johnny ``Red'' Pollard, made history 65 years ago. (3) Seabiscuit made the inaugural running of the Hollywood Gold Cup in 1938 a memorable race, setting the track record. Associated Press Box: 1938 HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP |
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