The Seabiscuit phenomenon would never have been what it was without the attention the media provided it with. Wrote B.K. Beckwith about Seabiscuit, "In one year alone he received more newspaper space than Roosevelt, Mussolini, or Hitler... [Seabiscuit] became news from Pekin to Paris, from Argentina to Alaska.... " (33). The press influenced the public's opinion of Seabiscuit to an extreme degree, but the Seabiscuit team had a great deal of influence on the press, too. Because of this, much of the publicity Seabiscuit gained was positive. The manipulative relationship between those associated with the horse and those covering the horse changed the history of horseracing.

Howard, Smith, and Pollard all had a special relationship with the press. Howard enjoyed it far more than the others -he loved media attention and felt he had to win over the public for Seabiscuit to attain true superstar status. He practically lived...