There are two types of people in the world who have enjoyed Seabiscuit related media. Those who have read Laura Hillenbrand’s book Seabiscuit: An American Legend, and those who have seen the movie Seabiscuit (2003). To the untrained observer these two groups of people seem to have experienced the same thing. The telling of Seabiscuit’s story, the inspiring tale of an underdog racehorse. Those people are wrong. There are stark, unalterable differences in the way these two pieces of media affect their respective audiences.
The book details Seabiscuit’s racing career in detail. Readers understand that the horse is not an underdog just because of a single leg injury. He is an underdog because he was not a winner. Time and time again the horse just could not get the job done. Even at full strength he simply was not good enough to place competitively at even the most minor races. The idea that this horse would go on to win the biggest race in the sport even after injury seemed laughable. Until, right at the climax of Hillenbrand ’s epic tome, the darn horse actually does it. He wins it all. He is a true champion. This remarkable beast vanquishes impossibility with a clop of his shoe. The effect on readers is dangerous. Their delusions of grandeur consume them. They fancy themselves a human Seabiscuit and buy troves of lottery tickets, drive cars they cannot afford, and just never seem to know when to quit. Just a bunch of overly motivated book nosers.
Hillenbrand herself was not immune to the danger of her book. Tattooed on her neck are the words “Like a mustang, I run with the bulls”. All of this just because of a bad breakup the author went through after an affair with a racehorse historian.
Meanwhile people who have watched the movie have actually seen the horse.