What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Red's parents are forced by their reduced circumstances to give him to someone who owns a stable and who offers to put Red up as a jockey. His parents' unexpected abandonment scars him and might frighten younger viewers who, like Red, do not understand why his parents would leave him. There is an off-screen car crash which takes the life of Charles' young son, followed by shock and mourning. Also, Red tries to make some money by amateur boxing -- Red sustains significant injuries and the crowd watching the fight seems quite menacing. There is another sports-related injury which features Red resulting in a mangled leg. In addition, there are references to drinking during the Prohibition, and the radio announcer drinks quite a bit. The jockeys frequent a brothel in Mexico, where there is a scene of implied sexuality between Red and one of the ladies there.
- Families can talk about the way each of the characters react to loss -- Charles with isolation and reflection, Tom with pragmatism, and Red with anger -- and how these reactions might be strengths or weaknesses or both. they should also talk about how each of the characters (including Seabiscuit) transforms the others. Each member of the family should ask, "Whose life can I change?" Families should also talk about what Charles means when he says that someone who does not know he is small can sometimes do something big.