Secretariat

That picture says it all, doesn’t it? Secretariat was the great race horse who won the Belmont Stakes in 1973 by 31 lengths, thus winning the triple crown after a 25 year drought. It’s not an easy feat for any horse…you have to be fast, especially for the Preakness, the shortest of the races, which at 1 1/16 miles, favors horses with early speed. You have to have staying power, endurance, especially for the Belmont Stakes, which at 1 1/2 miles, favors horses with lasting speed. So a horse that can manage all three races, in 5 or 6 short weeks, is a rare bird indeed. Looked kind of common in the 1970s, when three horses managed the feat. None now since 1978, 32 years ago.

Sunday I went to see the new Disney film, which is the story of Secretariat, but also the story of his owner, Penny Chenery. Penny was born in 1922 to a racing family, obtained her B.A. from Smith, and went on to Columbia Business School, which she left in order to marry, and have four children. She was living her life as a housewife when her father was struck ill, and she took over management of the farm.

The movie changes the chronology of things a bit, brings in some drama that wasn’t there on the part of the owner and her family. It plays fast and loose with the facts, makes it appear that the farm is about to go under, lies about a lot. The race scenes lacked in some ways…the Kentucky Derby seemed far too tame for the raucous drunken party it is in real life…the Belmont cannot stand up to the real thing in any way. But I didn’t care. It was well done, it was a great story, even if not true. And the shots of the horses were gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. I really, really enjoyed the movie. Recommended to all the horse lovers out there. Want to see the real thing? Watch the Belmont Stakes, here.