First off - know this, there is not a bigger racing fan than I am. And I truly looked forward to this movie, counting down the days, actually. But maybe because I am such a fan of racing and the great Secretariat in particular, I hated this movie. I went to see the sneak preview last night and it was awful! It was so nonfactual as to be ridiculous. There was no mention of the fact that Penny Chenery and Meadow Stables and Ron Turcotte had the Derby winner (Riva Ridge)the year before Secretariat. They wanted you to believe that Penny could get a phone call in Colorado in the middle of summer while poolside and make it to Virginia to be there for the birth of Secretariat in March with her trainer and the groom by her side. They gave Ron Turcotte a southern accent, I have met the man and he has a beautiful French-Canadian lilt to his voice. There was too much time wasted on the Marcia Brady like character of Penny's daughter and not enough racing scenes. The Preakness was shown on a small home TV for Heaven's sake!
And the worst was that they wanted you to believe that Keeneland race course was Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga. The music was terrible, I can't believe they played that dumb gospel song during the finale of Secretariat's heart-stopping Belmont triumph. And while they did have the best part of the greatest race call ever, ("Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine") it was barely audible in the background. Why, oh why could they not just have let the race speak for itself. Please, people go watch the actual race on you tube. It will give you goose bumps. OK, so maybe as such a big fan I have over analyzed the details,but that being said, go see the movie anyway. If it brings the excitement of racing and the spirit of Big Red to just one viewer then I guess it will be worth it. For my part, I will just watch Seabiscuit, (a great racing movie) over again.
And the worst was that they wanted you to believe that Keeneland race course was Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga. The music was terrible, I can't believe they played that dumb gospel song during the finale of Secretariat's heart-stopping Belmont triumph. And while they did have the best part of the greatest race call ever, ("Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine") it was barely audible in the background. Why, oh why could they not just have let the race speak for itself. Please, people go watch the actual race on you tube. It will give you goose bumps. OK, so maybe as such a big fan I have over analyzed the details,but that being said, go see the movie anyway. If it brings the excitement of racing and the spirit of Big Red to just one viewer then I guess it will be worth it. For my part, I will just watch Seabiscuit, (a great racing movie) over again.