[2] The film is a fictionalized account of the career of the 1930s racehorse Seabiscuit (1933–1947), with a subplot involving the romance between the niece (Temple) of a horse trainer (Fitzgerald) and a jockey (Lon McCallister).

A common friend, Phil Hall, told Butler that Howard was ill and would love to see a film made out of Seabiscuit.

Butler approached Jack Warner, who was a horse owner, and pitched the project, saying Barry Fitzgerald would be ideal for the role of Tom Smith the trainer.

In November the studio said Foote had written a script and that Barry Fitzgerald would play the lead alongside Geraldine Brooks, with William Jacobs to produce and filming to begin in December.

[12] The same month Warners completed a deal with RKO worth a reported $25,000 for the 10,000 feet of color footage of Seabiscuit shot in 1940.

[13] The bulk of the film was shot at Northridge Farms, a development established by Barbara Stanwyck and her then agent Zeppo Marx, then sold to a syndicate.

"[1] The New York Times reviewer panned the film, stating, "the odds are that Seabiscuit's screen saga will prove an also-ran" and characterizing the subplot as "one of the season's dullest romances".