"Zeb vs. Paprika" is based on an actual match race that occurred in late 1923. The Kentucky Derby champion, Zev, faced the Derby Stakes champion, Papyrus, at Belmont Park. The English horse was racing on a dirt track for the first time in its career (instead of grass), and it lost the race to Zev by five lengths.
"Zeb" is a spoof on a real horse named "Zev." Zev won two of the Triple Crown races in 1923, taking the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Zev was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame and in 1999 was named the 56th best-ever thoroughbred champion by 'The Blood-Horse' magazine.