“Based on the remarkable true story, Secretariat chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery?with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)?manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.
Notes:
- In 1973, Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting race records that still stand today in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.
- Penny Chenery, now 88, was an integral resource in the making of the film. She appears as an extra in one of the film’s scenes.
- In 1973, Secretariat graced the covers of three magazines the same week: Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.
- Director Randall Wallace, whose directorial credits include ?We Were Soldiers,? is the Oscar?- and Golden Globe?-nominated screenwriter of ?Braveheart.?
- In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a 33-cent postage stamp with Secretariat’s image.
Against all odds, housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane)?with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)?navigates the male-dominated horse-racing business, ultimately taking Secretariat on a spectacular journey to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.“
The wonderful people over at Disney extended an invitation for me and 10 of my closest friends and family to see a pre-screening of Secretariat. Of course being the horse lover that I am, I jumped all over that!
Tuesday evening, I headed out to Waukesha with my kids, father in law, mother in law, brother in law, nephew, a friend and her son. We were seated in a nice theater with comfortable seats and plenty of leg/arm room.
Secretariat began right after my friend and I got back from grabbing popcorn and sodas for everyone. The theater quieted down and everyone watched intensely as the movie began.
I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I won’t share a whole lot of the actual movie. The just of it is that penny learned that her mother had dies, so she went home with her family to attend the funeral. Her dad suffered from dementia and she found out he almost sold 6 horses for half the cost of what they were worth. Luckily her mother stopped that just in time.
With penny’s mother gone, there was no one to really oversee what was going on, so Penny stayed behind to look after things while her family went on home. She did some digging and uncovered some things. Basically the trainer was trying to rip them off and make a big amount of money.
Penny also dug into the blood lines and realized that one of the horsed foals would be great champion material. When she got the call that the foal was being born, she took her son and raced back to see him be born.She immediately feel in love and decided to stay there and raise this horse into the champion that he was meant to be.
There were many obstacles along the way, but they finally did make it. here’s the proud team all together.
Penny’s family {especially her husband} didn’t support her decision for the longest time, but eventually they all came through and cheered her {and the horse} on!
Secretariat far surpassed my expectations. It was so much better than I thought it would be and it was hilarious at some points! I don’t think the movie trailer had one funny scene in it, so that was totally unexpected. Secretariat was an amazing story and one that really is true. I think that makes it that much more amazing and special! This was definitely one of my top picks for movies in the last year. I loved it!
Walking out of the movie theater, we were greeted by members from Disney. They asked what our favorite part was and my friend and I said at the same time “All of it”! It truly was a spectacular movie! Well here, see for yourself!
There were people of all ages in the group that I went to see the Secretariat with and everyone absolutely loved it! Here’s what they had to say:
What did you like best about Secretariat and who was your favorite character?
Father in Law, age 62: The fact that it was a true story. Favorite Character: Penny
Brother in Law, age 39: I like the fact that it was a true story. Favorite Character: Secretariat and Penny
Friend, age 31: My favorite part was Secretariat winning at the end, the excitement of the crowd. Favorite Character: Nelsan Ellis’ character and Penny
Son, age 11: The end when the horse ran super, super fast. Favorite Character: Secretariat
Son, age 8 1/2: I don’t have a favorite, I like it all. Favorite Character: I like them all
Friend’s son age 7: All of it. Favorite Character: All of them
Secretariat came out in theaters today starring Diane Lane , John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, James Cromwell, Kevin Connolly, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Baker, Margo Martindale, Otto Thorwarth, Fred Thompson, AJ Michalka and Scott Glenn. It was directed by Randall Wallace.
You can connect with Secretariat on Facebook and Twitter @secretariatfilm.
I received complementary tickets for my family and friends to attend this event. Opinions expressed are my own or my families/friends and are not influenced by any form of compensation. Take it or leave it. Click here to view my full acknowledgment policy.
