Take it from a movie-loving thoroughbred handicapper, this is a sure bet!

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2003)

The time was never more ripe for a saga of a never say die group of individuals who all rise Phoenix-like from desperation to find glory. And the bulk of it is true. David McCullough of "American Masters" provides the Depression era context for the tale and the film is less concerned with the horse than it is with redemption. Seabiscuit is the catalyst for three forlorn individuals - already beaten up with the hand life has given them - to find the strength and the will to persevere.
As with its characters, the film transcends the literacy and monetary boundaries of the classes, it may appear to have the clichés of the typical sports movie but it does go much deeper than that as its athlete is not human. Thus it is forced to concentrate on its human characters, which is why it takes so long for the horse to appear. He's only the cog, it's the jockey, trainer and owner who are the spokes.
Whatever clichés it may have are only there because the greater part of the film is true - it can't be helped that David beats Goliath - history has already written this tale.
A bit of note for those who find trivia interesting - in the depiction of the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, the two jockeys involved are played by real-life jockeys, with Gary Stevens as George Woolf, Seabiscuit's replacement rider, and Chris McCarron as Charley Kurtsinger, War Admiral's jockey. For one who loves both thoroughbreds and film, this was a double bonus. The sports needs more representation on screen, that we waited this long for one of this quality was worth it.