'Seabiscuit' (2003)

About this episode

The episode explores the true story behind the underdog racehorse Seabiscuit and the Oscar-nominated film about his life.

Could the world's greatest underdog story really be about… a horse? With the United States reeling from the hammer blow of the Great Depression, millions found themselves out of work and out of luck. But with the appearance in the mid-30s of an unusual steed with crooked legs and "baseball glove knees" the American public found the unlikeliest of heroes. Whilst Seabiscuit may not be considered the most natural racehorse of all time, his ability to dig in and come through in times of struggle catapulted him and his team to stardom at a time when people needed him most. And what of the Oscar-nominated movie that told the story of the three most influential men in Seabiscuit's life? Can it really be said that this underdog story is true? Where did Tom Smith discover Seabiscuit? Was Red Pollard truly so accident-prone? And can a horse really have an autograph?! Join us to find out on That's Not How It Went Down! Subscribe now for further listening: https://tnhiwd.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Lewis Howard, Elliot Fitzpatrick

Topics covered

• underdog story
• Seabiscuit
• Great Depression
• horse racing
• film review

Keywords

• Seabiscuit
• Great Depression
• underdog
• horse racing
• Tom Smith
• Red Pollard
• film review

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Seabiscuit

More episodes of That's Not How It Went Down

• 'Quiz Show' (1994) · June 9, 2026 · 1h 1m
• BONUS: 'Gladiator' (2000) · June 2, 2026 · 42 min
• 'Memories of Murder' (2003) · May 26, 2026 · 1h 1m
• 'Battle of the Sexes' (2017) · May 19, 2026 · 60 min
• 'Deepwater Horizon' (2016) · May 12, 2026 · 60 min
• 'Heat' (1995) · May 5, 2026 · 59 min