The Kentucky Derby has been run every year since 1875. And one horse ran it faster than any other.
The same horse still holds the record for the Belmont Stakes, which has been run even longer, since 1867.
As I’m sure you’ve figured out, his name was Secretariat. And he was a Triple Crown winner in 1973, having also emerged victorious in the Preakness Stakes. But his road to racing immortality was an unlikely one.
The new Disney movie – now available on DVD and named for this thoroughbred – begins with a flip of a coin…Who wanted the horse that would become Secretariat? Turns out the rich guy passed.
And housewife from Colorado, named Penny Chenery, eventually inherited the colt after her father, a horse breeder, passed away.
Chenery juggled being a mom and a horse trainer for more than a year, risking the entire family estate on Secretariat’s success.
This movie is very engaging as it follows Chernery’s struggle to give this “tossed aside” horse a chance to prove himself. The challenges of motivating “Big Red” are many and Chenery rises to the occasion. She even pulls a retired trainer – who many think is washed up – off the golf course to help her.
In fact, in the opinion of this writer, Chernery was as unlikely an owner as Secretariat was a champion horse.
Watch this movie with your family and enjoy one of the best “sports” movies in recent years. You won’t be disappointed.
