10 Best Horse Movies – Celebrating Birthday Of 1973 Triple Crown Winner Secretariat

March 30, 1970. Racing champion Secretariat was born.

After Citation in 1948, Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years and became the stuff of legend.

New York Post columnist Larry Merchant said:

“Secretariat is the kind of Big Horse that makes grown men weep, even when they are flint-hearted bettors, even when he goes off at 1-10. He is the apparently unflawed hunk of beauty and beast they search for doggedly in the racing charts every day, and never seemed to find. His supporters rhapsodize over him as though he is a four-legged Nureyev, extolling virtues of his musculature, his grace, his urine specimens.” If he were to lose the Belmont, Merchant warned, “the country may turn sullen and mutinous.”

As of 2015, only 12 horses have won the Triple Crown: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), and American Pharoah (2015).

Just as with Secretariat, the next potential Triple Crown winner will begin its race into history with the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2016.

To celebrate Big Red’s birthday, here’s a look at some of the best films about our four-legged friends.

09 Jun 1973, Belmont, New York, USA — The field is so far behind, jockey Ron Turcotte has to turn in the saddle to look for it as he guides Secretariat to victory in the Belmont Stakes. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

PHAR LAP

Best horse racing film ever made.

Decades after his death, Phar Lap remains Australia’s most famous racehorse: an ungainly chestnut gelding whose great stamina helped him win 37 of his 51 races between 1929 and 1932. Phar Lap was born in New Zealand and purchased for the bargain price of 160 pounds by trainer Harry Telford and American owner David Davis in 1927. The horse repaid them by winning over 66,000 pounds in purse money during his career. Phar Lap was the favorite in the prestigious Melbourne Cup race three times, winning in 1930 and becoming a national hero in the process. After the 1931 Cup he was shipped to America to face new competition for bigger stakes. He won his first race, at Agua Calienti in Mexico, but never raced again: in April of 1932 he died suddenly at a ranch in California.

SECRETARIAT

Based on the remarkable true story, the movie 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 the greatest racehorse of all time.

BLACK BEAUTY

In 1993, Variety said “Although already filmed three times in the sound era, Black Beauty has never been put onscreen faithfully or well, a situation partially remedied by this affecting, rather grave rendition of the children’s perennial. Debuting director Caroline Thompson, who penned The Secret Garden, has brought considerable feeling and care to this story of a fine horse’s often difficult life in Victorian England.”

The film is seen through the eyes of the horse – through good times and ill, trusted friends and callous enemies and disasters both natural and man-made.

Currently sits at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes

THE BLACK STALLION

When young Alec (Kelly Reno) and a majestic Arabian stallion, “Black,” are swept onto a desolate island after a fierce storm sinks their ship, the two form a remarkable friendship. Eventually rescued, Alec teams with a horse trainer (Mickey Rooney) who prepares him – and Black – for the race of the century in this incomparably moving film that also features Teri Garr.

NATIONAL VELVET

Starring Angela Lansbury, Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, and a young Elizabeth Taylor, NATIONAL VELVET, the story of a British farm girl who fights to train a difficult horse for the Grand National Steeplechase, had its World premiere in New York City on Dec. 14, 1944.

In 2003, National Velvet was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The film won two Oscars – Anne Revere (Best Supporting Actress) and Robert J. Kern (Best Film Editing). Newsweek’s critic raved that the racing scene was among the most memorable in film history.

SEABISCUIT

Based on a true story, this film tells the story of an underdog racehorse who, through the friendship and devotion of his jockey, owner and trainer, beats the odds and gives hope to millions of Americans during the Great Depression. Written and directed by filmmaker Gary Ross, this movie stars Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges and is based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand. The film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

HIDALGO

A swarm of locusts so massive it obliterates the relentless sun. Deadly traps that defy imagination. These are just a few of the astonishing obstacles Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen), the greatest long-distance racer ever, faces in the rousing action-adventure HIDALGO. Based on a true story, Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo enter the ultimate extreme sport of its time — the Ocean Of Fire. Underdogs challenging the finest Arabian horses and riders, they must not only survive the grueling race across 3,000 miles of the Arabian Desert’s punishing terrain, but they must thwart the evil plots of competitors who vow victory at all costs

50 TO 1

A misfit group of New Mexico cowboys find themselves on a journey of a lifetime when their crooked-footed racehorse qualifies for the Kentucky Derby. Based on the inspiring true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys face a series of mishaps on their way to Churchill Downs, becoming the ultimate underdogs in a final showdown with the world’s racing elite. Starred Skeet Ulrich, Christian Kane and William Devane,

DREAMER

DREAMER was based on the story of Mariah’s Storm, a filly who broke a leg during a race in 1993, but a year later came back to win the Arlington Heights Oaks, and in 1995 won the Turfway Breeder’s Cup. The film starred Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning.

SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON

Spirit, a young mustang (Matt Damon), sets out on across the majestic wilderness to regain his freedom and save his homeland. Along the way, he forms a friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a squadron of soldiers, and ultimately, finds love. With original music written and sung by Bryan Adams.

Contributed by Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson