Posted by
Bill Crawford on Friday, October 08, 2010 9:19:28 PM
It surprises me that this movie wasn't done already, but then again, not really.
Secretariat was, along with Man O' War, one of the two greatest racehorses of the twentieth century. He was Sport's Illustrated's "Athlete of the Year" in 1973. He won the first thoroughbred triple crown in 25 years, when it was starting to be believed that it would never happen again.
On the other hand, there was no conflict with Secretariat. For the sake of the movie, they created some with the struggle of owner Penny Chenery trying to make it in the tony, aristocrat (read: misogynistic male) world of breeders and owners. If I know Hollywood well, they probably threw in some eccentric characters and made it all a chore for them to get along.
What do I mean by no conflict? His story was straight forward. His genetic line was top notch, and his speed surpised no one. His expensive syndication raised few eyebrows- everybody thought he was worth it. The only loss of his career- the Woods Memorial- was taken quite in stride by his supporters. There was no panic or angst among them over that.
Furthermore, he really was a special animal. There was no outside motivation with him. His rider's whip was never used. He never seemed to notice anything else on the track. He just accelerated and kept moving until everybody else was gone. It was his will.
If I were to watch a movie about him, it would last about ten minutes, and it would simply be footage of those three races. He won going away in the Kentucky Derby, setting a course record that still stands.
In the Preakness, he did something that I've never seen a horse do, before or since. Every furlong had a faster time. He accelerated the entire race. That course record stands now, also. I thought he would never be able to top that performance.
Then came the Belmont Stakes, the last triple crown race. By post time, his odds were 1-20. A $2 bet would net you a nickel profit. Everybody knew this, they were buying them for souvenirs. Nobody cashed them in.
The race went off and the jockey, Ron Turcotte, explained later that being in the thick of a thoroughbred race has the sound and feel of a serious earthquake. He noticed after a mile or so that he was riding in silence, and he was so taken aback by it that he committed one of the worst training sins of a jockey: he looked back. He had to. His horse was twenty lengths ahead and still running away from the field. He thought at first that they had all stopped racing or something. Watching it on television, the cameras were not prepared to focus on such a wide gap, they stayed on the front runner and then would slowly pan out to give you the bigger picture. Secretariat set a 1.5 mile world record that nobody has come close to since.
He was a special horse even in retirement. He wasn't sullen, he would put on a personality show for strangers. He also did something I never have heard a horse to do: he would follow planes across the sky with his eyes.
Not much for a screenwriter to sink his teeth into, though. I'm betting the movie is two hours of human drama, punctuated near the end with some of the best open field running this planet has ever seen. Is it worth it for that? Probably. I can see why this story would not merit a movie without some dramatic effect. None of it on the horse's part. He was a force of nature.