THE DISCARD
Why did they
let him go?
Enter Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons’s barn, where Seabiscuit’s future competed with the demands of a championship stable.
Explore chapters 1–3
- The Old Man’s Barn
- Thirty-Five Times
- Good Riddance
FOR THE FANS WHO WANT THE WHOLE STORY
You know the legend.
Now meet his doubters.
The trainers who passed on him. The owners who challenged him. The men who put their money on the other horse.
Loved the bestseller? Seabiscuit vs. Everybody adds a new layer: his rise through the eyes of the rivals, critics, and doubters on the other side of the rail.
PDF + EPUB included · 7-day refund policy
BY RAY HIGGINSThe story you love.
A different seat at the rail.
A different seat at the rail.
20 chapters170 PDF pages5 reference appendices2 reading formats
READER REVIEWS
A new perspective.
A story that stays with you.
★★★★★
I read Hillenbrand years ago and figured I already knew this story. I didn’t. Higgins tells it from the doubters’ side—Fitzsimmons, the claiming trainers, Riddle, the East—and it makes the whole legend hit harder. If you’ve read the popular book, this is a must-read.
★★★★★
Had never heard of Seabiscuit and picked this up on a whim. Couldn’t put it down. Clean writing, real tension, and a horse story that warms your heart even if you don’t know a thing about racing. Loved it.
★★★★★
This isn’t just another underdog horse story! It’s about all the smart people who passed and the small circle that believed he could do more. Finished it in a weekend and immediately wanted to hand it to a friend.
BEYOND THE STORY YOU ALREADY KNOW
Before the world believed,
a small circle did.
Charles Howard, Tom Smith, and Red Pollard saw promise in a horse so many others dismissed. George Woolf would become another vital part of his story. Beyond that small circle stood a racing world Seabiscuit still had to convince.
Ray Higgins follows Seabiscuit through their world: the crowded barn that had no room for him, the handicapper’s calculations, the rival owner’s conditions, and the jockey across the starting line.
You know the people who believed. Discover the people he still had to prove wrong.
FOUR PARTS. TWENTY CHAPTERS. ONE EXTRAORDINARY HORSE.
Every verdict.
Every turning point.
From the colt they let go to the champion they could no longer dismiss.
Why did they
THE WESTERN UPSTART
What did the
experts see?
Follow the rival owners, handicappers, and voters whose judgments shaped the races he had to run.
Explore chapters 4–8
- The Master of Glen Riddle
- A Nose in Arcadia
- The Little Brown Horse
- The Handicapper’s Pen
- The Vote
THE CHASE
Who could
stop him?
Meet Earl Sande, Bing Crosby’s racing interests, the clockers, and War Admiral’s camp on the road to Pimlico.
Explore chapters 9–17
- Handy Guy Like Sande
- A Hundred Thousand Dollars and a Sore Knee
- Boos at Suffolk Downs
- The Crooner’s Horse
- The Admiral’s Year
- Vanderbilt’s Table
- The Men with the Stopwatches
- One Minute, Fifty-Six and Three-Fifths
- The Morning After
THE LAST VERDICT
Was he
finally finished?
Return with Seabiscuit and Red Pollard as they face injury, doubt, and the race that still waits at Santa Anita.
Explore chapters 18–20
- Finished
- An Old Horse and a Broken Jockey
- The Third Time
Also includes a prologue, “The Railbirds” interlude, an epilogue, and the author’s note.
OPEN THE BOOK
“They were
not fools.”
An excerpt from the prologue,
The Favorite.
Start where the book starts: with respect for the people who got him wrong.
SEABISCUIT VS. EVERYBODY PROLOGUE
They were not fools. That is the first thing this book asks you to accept, and it is the hardest. The men you will meet in these pages — trainers and owners, jockeys and handicappers, clockers and bookmakers, writers and railbirds — were among the most knowledgeable horsemen in the world. Their judgments about Seabiscuit were not stupid, and most of them were not even unfair. At the time they made them, those judgments were usually correct.
Keep reading the excerpt
Seabiscuit at two really was a lazy, sore-kneed, underachieving claimer. Seabiscuit at four really was beaten by a nose in the richest race in the West, and really was ducking weight in the East, and really was scratched from two of the most anticipated races of the decade. War Admiral really was the better-bred, more accomplished, more celebrated horse. If you had been standing in that betting ring at Pimlico with only what was known, you would probably have laid your money where they did.
The story you think you know — the one told so beautifully by others — follows the handful of people who saw something in Seabiscuit before anyone else did: Charles Howard, the owner; Tom Smith, the trainer; Red Pollard and George Woolf, the jockeys. It is a story about belief, and it is true.
This book stands on the other side of the rail.
THE HORSE BEHIND THE LEGEND
A story that
still feels close.
Seabiscuit with the people who knew him best. Original photographs from the Howard family collection.
KEEP EXPLORING AFTER THE FINAL CHAPTER
The details
you’ll return to.
Five reference appendices bring the people, dates, bloodlines, and race results together.
- A
Cast of characters
The rivals, the doubters, and the people in Seabiscuit’s corner.
- B
Timeline
Follow the turning points without losing your place in the story.
- C
The family tree
See how Seabiscuit and War Admiral connect through Man o’ War.
- D
Myths and facts
Explore familiar questions about his size, companions, and famous races.
- E
The key races
Dates, opponents, results, and the conditions that made them matter.
Historical photograph · View archive sourceYOUR NEXT GREAT RACING READ
Take your place
on the other
side of the rail.
For readers who loved Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, and for anyone who has ever wondered why the experts backed the other horse.
Go beyond a familiar retelling. Revisit the turning points through the people who opposed him—their judgments, their stakes, and their reasons to believe he could be beaten. Read alongside the bestseller for a fuller picture of the story you love.
THE COMPLETE EBOOK
Seabiscuit
vs. Everybody
$19USD
Regular price $29Save $10 · 34% off
- All 20 chapters + prologue and epilogue
- All five reference appendices
- PDF and EPUB files in one purchase
- A one-time payment. Yours to keep.
Purchase through Payhip · Digital ebook
7 days to decideRequest a refund within seven days of purchase.
05:48:31
BEFORE YOU TURN THE FIRST PAGE
A few good
questions.
Everything you need to know about the book and your purchase.
How is this different from Hillenbrand’s book?
Seabiscuit vs. Everybody organizes the story around the rivals, critics, handicappers, owners, and jockeys who doubted or opposed Seabiscuit. It adds a layer to familiar events by making their judgments and motivations the center of the narrative. Read it alongside the bestseller for a fuller view from both sides of the rail. Events overlap, but the perspective and emphasis are different. This is an independent work, not an authorized sequel or a claim to previously undiscovered history.
Do I need to have read the other book first?
No. This book follows Seabiscuit’s rise and provides the context you need. If you already know the story, the rival-centered perspective gives you another way to explore it.
What exactly do I get for $19?
You receive the ebook in both PDF and EPUB formats. The PDF is 170 pages, including front matter. The book contains 20 chapters, a prologue, an interlude, an epilogue, the author’s note, and five appendices. EPUB page counts depend on your device and text size.
Is this a physical book?
This offer is for digital files. No printed book will be shipped and there are no shipping charges.
How do I receive and read my ebook?
Complete your purchase on Payhip to access the downloads. Read the PDF with a PDF reader on your computer, tablet, or phone. Open the EPUB with a compatible reading app, such as Apple Books. For Kindle, you can use Amazon’s Send to Kindle service to transfer the EPUB.
Is it nonfiction?
The author presents it as narrative nonfiction drawn from published historical sources. The author’s note explains the use of reconstructed perspectives and distinguishes them from documented quotations.
What is the refund policy?
You may request a refund within seven days of purchase. Contact the seller through Payhip with your order details so the purchase can be identified.
Are the photographs included in the ebook?
The historical photographs on this page illustrate Seabiscuit and his world. They are not a promise of an illustrated interior. The ebook’s focus is its narrative, with reference material in the appendices.
SEABISCUIT VS. EVERYBODY
The legend is familiar.
The other side is waiting.
Get the ebookOne purchase. Both formats. Seven-day refund policy.