"Secretariat," the movie

Opens Friday.

As one of the many many millions who were captivated by his Triple Crown campaign in 1973, I had high hopes for a big-screen treatment of Big Red. Especially the Belmont scene, which should look somewhat similar to the Saturn V launch scene in "Apollo 13."

Disney did a fairly decent job on "Miracle," another highly-publicized and frequently-retold legendary sports story from the 1970s/80s, so I had hopes they would do OK on the Secretariat story.

But ... most of the early spoilers are ... uhmmm ... not good.

Apparently what we're going to get is a Lifetime-movie story of a plucky (rich) housewife overcoming annoying male chauvinists to become richer and a factual storyline that is about 80% completely concocted. Oh yes they have a couple scenes of a horse running too.

We'll see what it looks like Friday but at this point expectations are not real high.

 

We saw a sneak preview. Your intuition is correct.

 

I had a pass to go to a screening a few weeks ago, but I didn't go, because it looked very, as you said, Lifetime-like. Even for free, I didn't want to see it.

 

As someone too young to remember Secretariat's run, I didn't have a lot to compare it to, so it wasn't terrible. Far worse ways to spend two hours, especially at that price tag. But I knew what kind of movie it would be when we were the only 30-something couple in the joint. Seriously. We sat in back of four people who had to be north of 80 and were surrounded by parents with their crying kids.

 

Suddenly, I don't feel so bad about having more than one jersey of Sam Mills, Ron Francis or Cam Ward. Thanks, Moddy.

Seriously, the previews gave off the impression that the action away from the track was a complete concoction. And, like many, I hold "Miracle" in high regard.

Not so sure many of us are going to like what we see.

 

If the movie blows, Diane Lane is always fun to look at.

 

It doesn't hurt that Moddy can swing by the farm on the way to a Nats game either.

 

My old man was at Big Red's last race at Woodbine. He drove the ambulance at the track for many years and was in his usual spot at the wire (as I recall the ambulance didn't follow the race at Woodbine in those days) when Secretariat turned for home.

He said he had seen hundreds and hundreds of races from that spot over the years but never saw anything like that horse coming out of the rain headed for the wire. He said it was the greatest horse he ever saw and couldn't come up with anything even close. He knew one of the jocks, a Canuckistani race legend, in the race and he said it went by his mount like no other horse he had ever seen.

The old man bet a deuce on Big Red to win and that remained the only winning ticket he never cashed. It is framed, along with a picture of Secretariat crossing the wire, at my brother's place.

 

Enjoy

 

A real fan would have a Secretariat tattoo.

 

Will I go see this movie?

Nay.

Please......enjoy the veil.