Factual error: In the shot with Howard and Red riding in the thirties vintage Buick, Howard flicks on the car radio, and the sound is instant. In those days, car radios were vacuum tube type, and needed several seconds to warm up before you would hear anything. (01:57:35)
Factual error: There is a scene at Saratoga where the grandstand is viewed from the backstretch. In the 30's the grandstand was not that large. Since then, there have been several additions to the grandstand. You can plainly see the new clubhouse (the white area on the left) which was just added recently. In fact this particular view should have shown the "Wilson Mile" chute which is no longer in existence but was in the 30's. (00:48:25)
Factual error: Orange twine was shown to tie bales of straw, twine of that type wasn't used until the late 70's or early 80's.
Factual error: When Seabiscuit and crew are returning by train to California after the big match race in Baltimore, the locomotive seen is a distinctive model used only by railroads in Canada.
Factual error: In a scene that is captioned: Tijuana, Mexico 1932; Jeff Bridges is being driven in a 1936-7 Buick.
Factual error: The Pimlico race track has a modern electronic scoreboard. It's visible when we see the race course in the morning before the race starts as well as after the race. (01:35:00 - 01:42:00)
Factual error: In the scene where Red is with the Mexican girl and half the screen goes dark to show that he's blind in one eye, it should actually be less than half the screen. The visual fields of the eyes overlap to allow for depth perception. You can see for yourself by putting a pencil vertically at the tip of your nose and closing one eye - if you look straight ahead you can still see things on the other side of the pencil. Red should be able to see slightly more than half of what's in front of him. (00:32:45)
Factual error: The doctors tell Red he has broken his leg in 13 places, however the X-ray shown later is not indicative of an injury of that nature. The two fractures you see in the X-rays are considered non-unions (fractures that aren't healed properly and are unstable) but we should also see some type of hardware that would be needed for that many fractures. Surgeons have been using internal screws on fractures since the turn of the century.
Factual error: When Charles gives Red a $20 advance he hands over a modern bill. (01:03:40)
Answer: Red asked for $10 because he needed to see a dentist, and Howard gave him $20.