Threewitt, who has been connected to California racing since its beginnings in the 1930s, continues to marvel at the exploits of the animal that is the subject of a best-selling novel and an eagerly anticipated movie opening in theaters across the country.
Though he was training in New York for a couple of years while Seabiscuit was developing into racing's "people's choice," the trainer is clear on his recollections of how the horse developed into one of racing's all-time greats.
Among those recollections are three he remembers distinctly: the famed 1938 Del Mar match race between the Charles S. Howard-owned Seabiscuit and Ligaroti, co-owned by Del Mar co-founder Bing Crosby and Howard's son, Lin; the highly publicized Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race, also in 1938; and the horse's classic victory in the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap.
But in spite of the lofty perch occupied by Seabiscuit in racing lore, Threewitt is just as inclined to talk about the horse's trainer - "Silent Tom" Smith. That's because Threewitt and Smith first met at Caliente Race Course in Tijuana in 1930 when neither was yet training horses. "We shared a tack room at Caliente," the trainer said. In addition, Threewitt was a party to the meeting between Smith and Howard that eventually led to the historic Smith-Howard-(jockey) Red Pollard-Seabiscuit team.
At the time of that Smith-Howard meeting, Threewitt was training for San Francisco banker George Giannini and Smith was training one horse for sugar magnate John D. Spreckels III and they were stabled in the same barn at old Tanforan racetrack. Giannini was friends with Howard and introduced Howard to Smith.
"That's how they met," Threewitt recalled, "and he wound up going to work for Mr. Howard. And, of course, it went on from there."
What kind of person was Smith? To Threewitt, "He was the nicest guy in the world. They called him 'Silent Tom,' and even then he didn't do too much talking. He kind of hated to tell anybody anything. He was kind of a gadget man; he could do most anything. He could work on an automobile or most anything else."
Part of Smith's "silent" persona, Threewitt said, was his way of putting on what Threewitt calls "the 'rubie-doo' act. He could act like he didn't know what you were talking about." That "Rube" ruse let him get away with a "no response" stance.
Part 2 - How Smith got Seabiscuit to become a champion
