July 31, 2003
Dear Concerned Citizen,

In 1987 Laura Hillenbrand went out to a restaurant for lunch. That night the college sophomore curled up in pain on her bed from severe food poisoning. Her active life of straight-A school work, horseback riding, and competitive swimming came to a sudden end. To this day Hillenbrand is often bed-ridden; staring at the ceiling as she copes with the chronic fatigue syndrome that threatens to derail her dreams.

Hillenbrand turned to writing, something she always loved. She fought mental exhaustion, recurring headaches, and vertigo by closing her eyes as she wrote long hand. She became a freelance magazine journalist, often covering horse racing from her bed. The physical freedom and beauty of a racehorse in full gallop gave her keen mind liberty of thought.

Then she heard the story of Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit was a horse born from a line of champions. Yet physical limitations thwarted his success. He was considered damaged goods. His front legs never got out straight in front of him. One back leg whipped out to the side like he was swatting flies in mid-stride. He was small and lazy, sleeping long hours. And he ate, well, …like a horse. His violent temper made him nearly impossible to ride. He won a few low level races, but his high-maintenance personality and obvious lack of natural gifts convinced professional horse-people he wasn’t worth extra effort.

Yet this misunderstood and mishandled thoroughbred became a cultural icon. In 1938 he was the most famous news story in America. Beaten up and dismissed, Seabiscuit’s resilience transformed everyone near him and inspired a nation. Hillenbrand wanted to write a book on Seabiscuit, but the historical research would be a monumental task for a writer in good health. For Hillenbrand, it would require an act of pure will. But the story obsessed her; more importantly, it inspired her. She decided to write it, secretly hoping to sell 5000 copies.

Hillenbrand wrote a book proposal and found a literary agent to shop it around publishers. The agent, armed with only the proposal, got Random House to commit. Then came the unexpected. Within days of landing a publisher, Laura received a phone call from a “very famous” Hollywood producer. Her proposal had created so much buzz in the East coast publishing circles that Universal and Larger Than Life productions wanted to option her book for a movie. Seabiscuit had inspired millions during the depression, a time of economic insecurity at home and rising terror abroad. The marketing pros saw dollar signs, hoping Seabiscuit’s magic might work today.

Hillenbrand had a refrigerator put near her bed so she didn’t have to waste energy going to the kitchen to get food. She used the internet to collect every scrap of research she could find, logging on eBay to buy old horse racing memorabilia and news clippings. Research piled high, always within her reach to limit the physical demands on her. She interviewed hundreds of leads using her bedroom phone, and transcribed the recordings herself. She spent four years writing Seabiscuit, An American Legend.

The hardcover remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for over a year, selling three million copies. The paperback is still on the list. The movie opened last week to positive reviews. It grossed 22.1 million on its opening weekend. Many in Hollywood see it is one of the movies to beat for the upcoming academy awards.

Both the book and the movie open with Charles Howard, a bicycle repairman turned car tycoon. Howard lost his love for cars following the death of his young son in an automobile accident, for which he blamed himself. His wife, unable to forgive him, filed for divorce. His loss enhanced his empathy for others in pain. Fighting cynicism, he continued to see the potential in others regardless of their obvious limitations. This is a gift few have. Most of us see the limitations in others while blind to their potential.

Howard teamed up with Thomas Smith, a mustang breaker who never lost his love for horses. America was embracing the horseless carriage, a modern contraption of sleek but soulless efficiency. Smith kept to where the horses were still valued; racetracks. There he meet Red Pollard. Abandoned by his parents at a makeshift race track in Montana, Red scratched out an existence as an oversized jockey by day and undersized prize-fighter by night. It would be hard to say which of these three had experienced more upheaval and suffering in their lives.

Smith, Howard, and Pollard formed an unlikely alliance that transformed Seabiscuit into a sports legend. Yet it was the horse that transformed these men and inspired a depressed America.

Howard saw in Seabiscuit not an efficient running machine like the automobiles beginning to crowd city streets, but a flawed creature with a fierce determination to excel. Seabiscuit wanted to run and to run fast. His speed came from his heart and his head, not his legs. In his mind he was Pegasus. All other horses would have to catch him.

He won race after race. Howard challenged the East coast racing establishment to a match; Seabiscuit against Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Just before the race Red suffered a multiple fracture of his leg and collar bone in a riding accident. Red insisted that George Woolf, America’s most famous jockey, take the mount in his place.

The downtrodden in America, those in need of another chance, rooted for Seabiscuit. They resented the East coast banking aristocracy who considered horse racing an elitist sport. The infield swelled with tens of thousands of fans cheering for Seabiscuit to upset War Admiral. They wanted to believe that in America the underdog, awkward and maligned, could win against the most prominent symbol of elitist snobbery.

Seabiscuit beat War Admiral by four lengths, setting a track record. Today, many horse racing enthusiasts consider that race to be the greatest in American history.

Heart is more than winning; it is trying when counted out. Seabiscuit represents the struggle between the idealized dreams held in the mind and the limitations of physicality, will, and spirit.

This is especially true for Laura Hillenbrand, whose own fortitude and courage in telling this story has inspired millions.