Today, thoroughbred horse racing is still around but it’s nowhere near what it used to be in the US.
In the ‘30s, the main sports in American were arguably baseball, boxing and horse racing and it’s not like people had tons of time for leisure anyway, with the Great Depression still going on.
But Seabiscuit caught people’s imagination. If you’ve seen the movie, you know the basic story: he was seen as a flop, sold for a song, only to scrap his way to greatness after all.
War Admiral was portrayed as the privileged Eastern star, even though he had shown immense heart himself, winning the Triple Crown while running on a damaged hoof in the Belmont Stakes.