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"The One That Got Away": Sam McLaughlin and Seabiscuit.
Did you know that Sam McLaughlin once contemplated the purchase of " a poor, beaten-up, old nag" called Seabiscuit? He fondly referred to the horse as the "one that got away". Seabiscuit, which was bred and raced originally by the Wheatley Stable, went to the post the incredible number of 35 times as a two -year- old. Shortly after the beginning of his three-year-old campaign, the Wheatley Stable decided to sell him. Mr. McLaughlin and his trainer of the period, examined the horse, deciding that his overworked ankles were not strong, and that the fact that he had won less then $13,000 in purses, did not recommend Seabiscuit for purchase. The trainer was worried that the horse might prove to be a cripple. Sam, on this advice, declined the offer to buy. So, Charlie Howard purchased the horse which went on to win $438,000 in purses. Leaving Sam McLaughlin to exclaim, "the one that got away!"
- a recent find from the Parkwood Foundation Archives
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