Horse Racing Movies

I know it's been a long time since I posted one of my sports movie reviews, but finally I get to the third installment--horse racing movies. I know there are a lot of them out there, but here I've chosen to review the three most recent ones I've seen.

1. Dreamer--Based on a true story, this movie stars Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, and Kris Kristofferson. The target audience seems to be 8 year old girls who spend their free time and money collecting My Pretty Pony (or whatever they're called) dolls and Saddle Club novels.

The story centers around an up and coming racing filly, named Sonador--which means Dreamer in Spanish. (Isn't it funny how they all have to have foreign names in these types of movies?) One day, this filly breaks her leg on the track, and the owner orders the trainer (Kurt Russell) to euthanize the horse. The trainer, however, had just happened to pick that particular day to bring his young daughter to work with him. The trainer refuses to kill the horse in front of his little girl, so the owner fires him. The trainer then buys the horse and takes her home with him, where--wonder of wonders--she makes a complete recovery. Didn't see that coming, did we?

The trainer still doesn't have a job, though, and money gets tight, they can't afford to feed a horse, so he sells it. Enter grandpa (Kris Kristofferson) who takes his life savings out of the coffee can (literally) and gives it to his son to buy the horse back. Which he does, and gives her to--guess who--the little girl. What the movie doesn't explain is how they suddenly found enough money to feed the horse. The little girl decides to train the horse and enter her in the biggest horse race of the year, the Breeder's Cup.

Overall, I found this movie to be so syrupy sweet and so nauseatingly predictable, that I didn't even need to watch it to know what would happen. I seriously doubt that, unless you are that 8 year old girl with the My Pretty Pony collection and the shelf full of Saddle Club books, you will enjoy it either.


2. Seabiscuit --They said he would never win, this grandson of Man O' War. he was too small. His jockey was too big. He was a poorly proportioned, short legged, ugly horse. What they didn't count on was the size of his heart.

He wins. He wins consistently. He captures the heart of the Nation, then tragedy strikes. No, the horse doesn't break his leg. The jockey does. He is told that he will never race again. Nobody counted on the size of his heart, either.

Based on a true story (loosely, as all Hollywood productions seem to be), this movie stars Jeff Bridges and Tobey McGuire. It is well produced and the acting, with those names, is superlative. Because it is a true story, we know how it ends, but the movie is engaging enough to keep you on the edge of your seas. If you are a fan of horse racing--especially its history--you will enjoy Seabiscuit. If not, you may find it just a bit dull.


3. Ruffian--I remember The Great Match race, and all the hype surrounding it. I remember watching the race. Traitor to my gender, I wanted Foolish Pleasure to win, but only because I was more familiar with him. I'd never heard of Ruffian. Fillies didn't get much news coverage back then. They still don't.

I got very anxious during the race because it seemed that the filly was winning. Suddenly the colt seemed to leap forward and pull away. I was so excited that he'd won! Until I realized how he'd won. Why he'd won. It was a hollow victory. In my mind, even to this day, he didn't really win that race.

The movie tells the story of that race, and the events leading up to it. Because it is an ESPN production and not a Hollywood film, that's all it tells. There are no sub plots--no secondary stories. Nobody's alcoholism, nobody's extra-marital affair, nobody's poverty stricken family down in Central America is dragged into the movie. It's about the horse and her people. And that's all.

Don't think this means it's lacking in quality, though. Not a bit. The movie is very well made, and the acting superb. On the day of The Great Match Race, they were able to convey both the excitement of the occasion and a sense of somberness. Anticipation mingled with foreboding. You just knew something bad was going to happen.

As the movie continued, and the race progressed, I found myself hoping beyond hope that history would somehow revise itself and the race would have a different outcome. But it didn't. Everything in the movie happened exactly the way it happened in real life.

I didn't cry when I was a child. I can't make that claim this time.


Previous posts in this series:

Hockey Movies

Basketball Movies