Seabiscuit 
WAR Admiral
The “Race of the Century”
On Tuesday 1 November 1938, the two racehorses finally met in what was euphorically dubbed the “Race of the Century”. The race, which was to be run over a mile and 3/16, still ranks as one of the greatest sporting events in US history. Although it was a weekday, an unusually large crowd of 40,000 gathered at the track for the time. So many people wanted to witness this racing event that they even had to open the infield to spectators. Trains had brought spectators from all over the country to the Pimlico Racecourse near Baltimore, Maryland and 40 million people followed the race on the radio. War Admiral was the undisputed favorite for the race; the betting odds at most bookmakers were 1 to 4 in his favor and most sports journalists were also unanimous about the outcome of this race.
When the starting bell rang on 1 November, Seabiscuit took off with such speed that he was already a length ahead of War Admiral after 20 seconds. Seabiscuit was able to maintain this gap for most of the race, but on the back straight War Admiral began to close the gap and draw level with Seabiscuit. George Woolf did not spur Seabiscuit on immediately, but first allowed Seabiscuit to perceive the opposing horse beside him. When he then released the reins, Seabiscuit still had enough power to increase his racing speed once more. War Admiral could not keep up; when Seabiscuit crossed the finish line, he was four lengths ahead of his opponent. On 10 April 1940, it was officially announced that Seabiscuit would run no more races. He returned to Howard’s Ridgewood Ranch .
He left the Turf as the most successful racehorse of his time.
