In a sport that had its prime a long time ago, horse racing’s success in Hollywood, after producing about 200 titles, has yielded few winners. Yet there are a handful that have bucked the odds of being ranked in the “also-ran” category and have captured an essence of the sport and continue to attract filmmakers. Usually there are two reasons behind that interest. One is that, like boxing, horse racing has traditionally been associated with crooked characters who are driven by the temptation of sudden success but more often than not teeter on ruin. The second is that the camera loves these most photogenic of animals.
It is no surprise then that the cream of movies involving horse racing contains one of those elements. Here is a snippet of the very best. Feel free to offer your views.
10) Broadway Bill (1934)
This humorous tale directed by Frank Capra and featuring a mesmerizing performance by Myrna Loy, stars Warner Baxter who is pressured by his nagging wife Helen Vinson into working in her family’s paper box factory, so he eventually abandons both his job and his marriage to start life anew as the owner of a racehorse, Broadway Bill. Baxter runs into trouble with fees, jockeys, gamblers, the law, and an often-ill horse, but Broadway Bill does win the climactic race only to die in the Winner’s Circle. Having lost his championship horse, Baxter finds consolation in the loving arms of Helen’s sister Princess (Loy).
9) The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
In this Damon Runyon remake, Bob Hope is Sidney Melbourne aka the Lemon Drop Kid whose troubles begin when he accidentally steers mobster Moose Moran’s girl away from a winning bet and is forced to come up with $10,000 to repay the angry gangster. Luckily it is the holiday season when people can be induced to donate money for the right cause.
Let It Ride (1989)
In a story dotted with eclectic characters (something the sport seems to attract), Richard Dreyfuss, delivers a frenetic yet amiable performance as a gambler named Trotter (that is correct). He promises his wife (Teri Garr), that his days at the races are over, yet Trotter goes out the very next weekend and bets everything he has, $50, on a sure thing. And sure enough, he wins. Feeling that he can’t lose, Trotter lets his winnings ride and ride beyond any measure of common sense. Nancy Dowd, who wrote “Slap Shot”, is credited for the screenplay here as well.
7) Secretariat (2010)
Diane Lane, in a form-fitting role, plays Penny Chenery, owner of the racehorse Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973. Lane is impressive showing a competitive spirit that ranks up with her horse as a housewife and mother of four who takes on the male-dominated racing establishment to make history.
6) Ruffian (2007)
Ruffian, set in 1975, is based on the true story of the legendary racing filly who was undefeated until suffering a fatal breakdown in a match race at Belmont Park against a champion colt called Foolish Pleasure. The race caught national attention and was hailed as a historical follow-up to tennis’ “battle of the sexes” — Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs a couple of years before. This made-for-tv film, despite its limited budget, scores some solid performances from Sam Sheperd as Ruffian’s trainer and Frank Whaley as sportswriter Bill Nack.
5) The Black Stallion (1979)
Actors Mickey Rooney and Teri Garr appear twice on this list and together in this movie. Rooney plays a mentor to a young boy (Alec Ramsey) who has ambitions of becoming a jockey to his own horse, one he befriended when the ship they were on tragically sinks and only he and the Arabian stallion survive. Garr plays the young boy’s mother. Brilliant cinematography.
4) Phar Lap (1983)
This is a true story of a rags to riches horse who won the hearts of all Australians during the great depression. Overcoming the increasing handicapping weights he had to carry, Phar Lap, with the help of a determined trainer (played by Martin Vaughan) and a dedicated local stable boy (Tom Burlinson) won 37 races including the renowned Melbourne Cup. However it all ends in tragedy as the horse dies in mysterious circumstances while racing in Mexico and America.
3) National Velvet (1944)
Nominated for five Academy Awards, Mickey Rooney plays a jaded former jockey who helps a young girl (Elizabeth Taylor) prepare a wild but gifted horse for England’s Grand National Sweepstakes. The picture won two Oscars – one for Best Editing and one for Best Supporting Actress with Anne Revere as Taylor’s mother.
2) A Day at the Races (1937)
If there was a sport tailor-made for the crazy antics of these iconic clowns, horse racing is it. The Marx Bros produce a classic film in this wacky stew where a vet posing as a doctor, a race horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit racehorse. Director Sam Wood would also go on to helm the memorable baseball pictures “The Stratton Story” and “The Pride of the Yankees”.
1) Seabiscuit (2003)
Written and directed by Gary Ross and based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, this true story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted the spirits of a nation looking for a hero, shines it in its ability to convey how an underdog horse succeeded in taking three broken down people – the jockey, trainer and owner- and made them whole again. That is the magic of Seabiscuit.
My Father was a jockey in 1933 to 1939 and was an extra in ” BROADWAY BILL”.
Later to become a trainer of Thoroughbreds for 60 years.
I am a second generation trainer for over 34 years.
Bill julian Hallandale beach fla.