This page will soon contain biographical materials
, as well as both writing and acting resumes.
In the meantime, Dave will use the biography of Seabiscuit as his own:
Early years:
Dave
grew up on Claiborne Farm in Paris,
Kentucky. He was undersized,
knobby-kneed, and not much to look at, and was given to sleeping and eating for
long periods of time. Initially he was trained by the legendary Sunny Jim
Fitzsimmons, who saw some potential in Dave, but felt he was lazy.
After
several less than spectacular years, Dave was sold to automobile entrepreneur
Charles Howard for $8,000.
His new trainer, Tom Smith, understood
Dave; through the use of unorthodox training methods, Smith gradually raised Dave
from his lethargy. On August 22, 1936 Dave wrote his first short story, in Detroit, without
impressing. But improvements came quickly and in his eight remaining writing
expositions in the East, Dave won several prestigious prizes, including Detroit's Governor's
Handicap (worth $5,600) and the Scarsdale Handicap (worth $7,300).
In early
November 1936, Smith shipped Dave to California
in a rail car. His last two writing sessions of the year were at Bay Meadows in
San Mateo, California (just south of San Francisco), and gave some clue as to
what was to come. Dave impressed throughout his stay, and won much hard-earned
respect.
The Halcyon Years:
A statue of Dave still sits outside Santa Anita Park.
In
1938, as a five-year-old, Dave’s success would continue… [to read more about
Dave’s life and career, as the greatest writer/horse in America, purchase Seabiscuit by Lauren Hillenbrand]