Essay Questions

What are the sources of conflict between Johnny "Red" Pollard and his boss, Charles Howard?

There are three major sources of conflict. The first is Pollard's health: the jockey is injured several times during the course of his career and is often not available to ride Seabiscuit. Indeed, Pollard listens to one race from his hospital bed while his friend George Woolf rides Seabiscuit instead. Pollard's blind eye also costs him a key victory at the Santa Anita Handicap when he fails to notice another racehorse overtaking Seabiscuit from behind. Although Howard is emotionally attached to Seabiscuit, the racehorse is not a pet but an investment. It costs money to buy racehorses, house and feed them, and pay for people to feed and train them. It costs money to transport the horses all over to the country to various races and to provide accommodations to the humans and animals who travel with them. Whether or not Seabiscuit wins enough money to justify the expense of keeping him is vitally important to Howard. In order for Seabiscuit to win, Howard needs a reliable jockey. Pollard's injuries and blind eye keep him from being the kind of jockey Howard can count on to win. In fact, Pollard's broken leg is so fragile that if Howard allows him to race in his injured condition, a minor bump or collision could break the jockey's leg and also cost Seabiscuit another victory.

A second major source of conflict between rider and horse owner is the nascent jockey's union. Pollard desperately needs some form of insurance if only to pay for his medical care, but he rejects all offers to join the union lest it be seen as a reflection on his boss.

The third major conflict between Pollard and Howard is money. To support himself and his family, Pollard continues to race horses from other stables. Howard does not hire him to ride exclusively for him. When Pollard is injured in an accident involving a horse from a different stable, he is unavailable to ride Seabiscuit.

What is Marcela Howard's character like? Describe her contribution to the plot of the novel in the context of Seabiscuit's career.

Marcela Howard was a young, courageous woman who was extroverted, friendly, and fearless. Substantially younger than her husband Charles, she was athletic and cool-headed. She was also image-conscious and willingly helps Charles to cultivate the positive opinion of reporters, jockeys, and other people in the racing world. She was fair-minded and insisted that the people working for Charles Howard be treated well. This resulted in better food and living conditions for all of the people who worked with Seabiscuit, including Red Pollard and the stableboys.

Without Marcela, Seabiscuit would never have come to the Howard stable because there would have been no stable. Before Charles Howard met Marcela, he was strictly a spectator in the racing world. It was not until after his second marriage that he became energized enough to commit himself to any venture, including racing. The Howard stable was registered under Marcela's name, and she designed the jockeys' uniform. She doted on Johnny Pollard, planned and financed his wedding to his wife Agnes, and was therefore a key factor in the jockey's return to racing.

Why did Tom Smith have so much difficulty with the press? Compare and contrast his attitude to reporters with that of his boss, Charles Howard.

Tom Smith was a horse trainer. Many of his methods were unorthodox, and he believed that if too many people knew how he was training Seabiscuit, other trainers would imitate his methods and help Seabiscuit's competitors become faster. He also did not like it when he, or Seabiscuit, was distracted or interrupted. He viewed reporters as a nuisance and tried to discourage them with terse remarks. For example, when one reporter asked Smith to describe Seabiscuit, the trainer replied: "He's a horse." Later, as the press attention became more invasive, Smith tried to dodge the reporters by training Seabiscuit at odd hours or by swapping Seabiscuit with his lookalike brother, Grog. He did this to keep Seabiscuit's speed a secret as long as possible so as to avoid outrageously heavy handicap imposts which would have put Seabiscuit at a competitive disadvantage and a greater risk of injury. The more Tom Smith withdrew from the press, the more aggressive the reporters became.

Compared to Tom Smith, Charles Howard was an open book. He went out of his way to cater to members of the press. He sent champagne up to the pressbox even when Seabiscuit lost, he welcomed phone calls and interviews, and he was careful to not deliberately offend anyone connected to newspaper or radio.