After the loss in the hundred-grander, Howard again focuses on setting up a match race with War Admiral. Howard knew Sam Riddle held the upper hand: he would never bring War Admiral west as he considered eastern racing superior and both owners knew that without a race clearly won by Seabiscuit, War Admiral—fairly or not—would be considered the better horse. In short, Riddle had little to gain from such a matchup. Howard could always just register Seabiscuit in a race that War Admiral also ran, but he felt that would be a disadvantage. War Admiral always tore out of the gate to a fast start, while Seabiscuit tended to start slower, find his pace, and close strong. With other horses running, there was a risk that he might get boxed in or bumped, like at Santa Anita. He asked Herbert Bayard Swope, the New York Racing Commission chairman, to help him arrange for the horses to meet.

In the meantime, Howard had agreed to have Seabiscuit race in the Agua Caliente Handicap, in Tijuana. The city had faded from its glory days when Pollard raced there. Mexico had banned gambling in 1934, and then relegalized it several years later, so the track was trying to return to prominence.