im NOT a horse guy and i am a motorsports photographer. one day i took my cameras to workouts at Santa Anita race park and as i was snapping a few pics of horses getting ready to go out onto the track .... again, im NOT a horse guy, but i witnessed 1 or 2 horses POSING for me, they could hear my shutter snaps and looked right at me with ears pricked. i couldnt believe it and thought it was just awesome.
Secretariat still holds the record time in all three Triple Crown races. He ran each quarter mile in the Kentucky Derby faster than the previous quarter mile, and his time in the Belmont Stakes is still the world record for a mile and a half on a dirt track.
I hope that everyone resists making Sham, a villain. He was a great horse, and I thought that he would finally defeat Secretariat, in the Belmont. Of course, Secretariat removed all doubt that day, and became legendary. In almost any other year, Sham, would have probably won the "Triple Crown", but he had the misfortune of being born the same year as the "Greatest!"
@@Dave-hb7lx yes and i mentioned that, but called him the owner when i meant trainer, per what i have read of him (Frank Pancho Martin) He was not like the movie portrayed him and did not say all those mean things. but movies need a villain so they made him the bad guy.
Yes! I remember that too. I'm not a horse person but even I was agog at the way he left the rest of the field in the dust. Just jaw-on-the-floor amazing.
I was 8 when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. He was all over what media we had back then. People talked about him constantly. I vividly remembering drawing a picture of him winning the Belmont. I made sure all the horses colors were accurate. Of course I couldn't draw it to scale because the other horses wouldn't even be on the paper. But I wrote "31 lengths" at the top to explain! Red's Belmont performance is typically ranked in the top 50 of the greatest sports moments in history. And it's always the only ranked moment for an animal.
What's most amazing is that Secretariat started in last place in all three of his Triple Crown wins, and just out-accelerated the field. In his very first race, another rider violently (and illegally) bumped him out of the gate, and Secretariat became shy at the gate, almost always letting the field go by before he poured on the gas.
In sports, I cannot think of a more epic, inspiring moment than Secretariat's win in the 1973 Belmont Stakes....the most epic horserace in history. Divine intervention. Perfection on earth.
Beautiful Movie!!!!! Now After You Watch This , Please Go On RU-vid and see the “real” Secretariat run those triple crown races !! It’s even more spectacular than in the movie!! Really shows the distance between him and the other horses!!! You’ll love it!!! I was lucky enough to see him do the triple crown on tv when it happened!! This movie and the racing clips still give me goosebumps!!!!
My favorite Secretariat trivia: even though he was being brought up to a gallop at the end of the 1.5 mile Belmont, he was traveling at such a tremendous pace that he broke the all-time record for 1 5/8 miles too. Another stellar reaction video, good job!
I got to see all of his races. Such a magnificent, marvelous creature. But we might never have seen him without the determination of one dedicated woman.
The real Penny was in the bleachers in the film during the last race!!! I lived this phenomenon as a 17 year old, was never interested in horses, but THIS was a supernatural event. Everybody at school year's end was talking about this the next day. The next year, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record. And Nixon was forced to resign as President. Those were the days.
It is amazing how when you're watching the races, knowing the outcome, you're on the edge of your seat cheering Secretariat on, "Come on, come on. Let's go. Go, go, go." It's as exciting as a live race.
A really good biopic of Secretariat, the greatest athletic performer of all time (and of his owners)! I've recently rewatched the original calls of his Triple Crown win. I watched them all live as a 13 year old and I think only the US Olympic hockey team's defeat of the Soviet Union comes close to that excitement level.
I remember the family anxiously waiting to see Secretariat's races and can brag that I have seen him win these races live as it was happening. You had Mark Spitz setting swimming records, Olga Corbet setting gymnastic records, Evil Knievel setting motorcycle stunt records and you had Secretariat. It was a great era.
The actual video of his Triple Crown races are uploaded on YT. The Belmont call is EPIC. Secretariat was Sports Illustrated athlete of the year for 1973. His tomb is in Lexington, KY. Kings don't have ones this size. My mother was in college in Maryland and went to the Preakness. She saw the previous Triple Crown winner, Citation, win the race. True 1970s fashion here.
I really hope she watches it. As good as this movie is, watching the actual race footage is a whole other level of inspiring. I still get chills when I watch it today.
No movie horse can compare to Big Red. Watch videos of his Triple Crown races, and pause and zoom in to look at his size compared to his competitors -- Secretariat's chest and neck were so massive that his equipment had to be specially made. Absolute freak of nature that we will never see the likes of again.
Prior to 1973, no horse had won the Triple Crown since 1948 and Citation. A majority of horse people believed it couldn't be done anymore, winning three races of different distances in three states in five weeks. The mile and a half distance of the Belmont was the graveyard of speed horses.
"Has there been one good phone call in this movie?" Again, couldn't ask for a better pairing of reactor and film! And no need to apologize for those tears -- heartfelt emotion is why we come here. Thank you, Madison!
I remember watching all three races and was thrilled by Secretariat. The only horse that came close to Secretariat in fame and performance was Ruffian, perhaps the greatest filly ever to race. There is a TV movie about Ruffian (which I never saw), but I am sure it would break your heart.
I like this movie. I remember when Secretariat was running in the triple crown. The real videos of the three races is better than the movie, only about 10 minutes all togehter, they are amazing. Especially the Preakness, from last to first, passing the other horeses like they are standing still. The Belmont was truely unbelievable
What an amazing story, simply incredible. The film did a wonderful job of capturing the essence & bringing an inspiration regardless if you know anything about horse racing. Not to mention, Fred D. Thompson in the role of Bull Hancock…& he’s one of my favorite actors. (Now Madison, you must watch “Hildalgo” which is based on a story that cannot be verified nor disproved. This gray area just adds to the intrigue. Either way, it is a fantastic film).
Your next "horse" movie should be Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" (2011). It's a fictional tale of a British farm horse, who makes his way from owner to owner, during World War I. The horse's trials and tribulations in the war will tug at your heartstrings.
Cheers! Great reaction! My grandmother was a Turcotte and our family folklore includes Ronnie Turcotte as a not so distant relative of ours. Maybe I'll find out for sure one day but he sure had that trademark Turcotte stubbornness that runs deep in my family. 😁👍🏽🏇🏽🏇🏽🏇🏽
This movie always brings tears of joy watching the 3rd race, and watching the youtube actual race all I said is wow, another great cowboy horse race movie you would love is Hidalgo a american Mustang thats amazing
What's so sad is that Sham in *any* other year, would be considered one of the greatest race horses to have ever existed. But he was just unfortunately born at the same time as the greatest horse in history. But Secretariat's Belmont Stakes run was listed in the top 20 athletic performances of all time. He was the only non human to make the list.
My favorite horse 🐎!! Have u seen Phar Lap? The Australian champion? 👍🏼 But have u seen the granddaddy of all horse racing movies, NATIONAL VELVET?!? Gave Elizabeth Taylor her start n also had Mickey Rooney which made his crossover to The Black Stallion so cool!
Secretariat at the Belmont one of those, where were you when you saw it or heard about it, moments in time. The horse Sham also one of the great horses but had to race the triple crown with Big Red.
Good movie, entertaining. The Secretariat part is accurate...but some fiddling with the story of his owner was done for dramatic purposes. I'll elaborate after you watch. Secretariat was literally a super horse.
The Belmont Stakes moves upstate to Saratoga for awhile starting this year. After his Triple Crown win, Big Red came in third in the Whitney at Saratoga in August, 1973. Onion won. Nobody remembers Onion lol.
My grandfather was involved in the horse racing industry and my mom's cousin was Don Brumfield, winning jockey on Kuai King in 1966 for the Derby and the Preakness. Whoever did the set design for this movie hit the bullseye. From the buildings to the small appliances in the houses looked directly out of my grandparents' house.
This film has two great lines. The first when Turcotte meets Ogden Phipps & says "Do they call you Tiny?" & the other at the end where Lucien shouts at Turcotte "Ronnie, don't fall off!"
Just thinking about GOD'S OWN HORSE gets me a little choked up - and watching that 1973 Belmont Stakes race with Chic Anderson calling it brings me to tears, Every Time - saw it broadcast Live 51 years ago, and it was absolutely unreal - He is moving like a TREMENDOUS MACHINE! It wound up being 31 Lengths. When they autopsied Big Red, it turned out his heart weighed 21 lbs., as it should've normally been around 8 lbs. - He was truly All Heart, and when all the others were going into Oxygen Debt, he was just getting his 2nd wind. Also, his hindquarters had a sloped croup that extended the length of his femurs and allowed his legs to get further under himself at full stride, thus increasing his drive.
We toured Churchill Downs a few years back. Our tour guide told us after Secretariat's death, an autopsy revealed his heart weighed almost 3 times more than the average thoroughbred. No wonder that horse had an extra gear the competition lacked . . .
I'm from Germany and saw the Triple Crown Races when they where life shown on AFN (American Forces Network) for the Ammerican troops that where stationed in Germany at that time and still are. One aspect You seem all to miss out on is the Fact that Ron Turcotte never used his whip in any of the Triple Crown Races with Secretariat and any other race he rode on Secretariat, while the other jockeys used it in a manner which almost seems redicules. That says a lot about Ron Turcotte and especialy Secretariat no other horse ever had the will to win a race like Secretariat did particularly in the Triple Crown Races he showed them all what he was made of and the incredible intention to win the Triple Crown Reces with an exclamation mark in every one of those races and by far the most unbelievable performance in the Belmont Stakes which lasts over 50 years and will last for ever. May the memory of Your breath taking and awe inspiring performance last in all eternity SECRETARIAT!!!
Across the street from the backside of Churchill Downs is an old-time pharmacy / lunch counter called Wagner's. The scene between Penny and Ogden Phipps was filmed in Wagner's, which is where many of the trainers and owners often eat. So many people asked about which table Diane Lane and James Cromwell were sitting for the scene that the table now has a brass plaque on it. (And Wagner's is still a great place to eat - not pretentious at all, just good food --- and they sell things like horse liniment as well.
You should watch Diane Lane's film debut in "A Little Romance" (1979). Her performance in that movie landed her on the cover of Time magazine at the age of just 14.
Thanks for watching, Madison. Secretariat was the only athlete on my bedroom walls. Last I heard, he still had the fastest times at all three tracks. His times work out to being 37.7, 37.8, and 37.5 mph, respectively. He was amazing. Sad that his kids never panned out. My two favorite off-road horse racing movies are HIDALGO, about the horse, and BITE THE BULLET, about the riders.
Great casting and it was so enjoyable. Difficult to believe Secretariat's times are still records 50 years later. You gave your usual enjoyable review. You did shed some tears but your smile was often on display.
I got to see Secretariat race at Arlington Park. It was after the Belmont. Lucien Laurin his trainer was glad to run him. He was literally tearing down the barn. It was more an exhibition than a race. He was still racing exclusively against 3 year olds. His next start was the Whitney Handicap against older horses. He lost to a horse called Onion. I felt his last race was great. In Canada on the turf course against older horses. I think he ran better on the turf.
Secretariat was a freek on the race track winning the triple crown, which is held over a 2month period and it is for 3yo only whereas the original Big Red from Down Under(PHAR LAP) won all 4 G1 races over the spring carnival of 1930 on the 4th then the 6th then the 8th then the 14th no horse anywhere in the world at any time has achieved that feet,like secretariat Phar Lap had a larger than normal heart.
NOVA, the science program, analyzed Secretariat's gallop to see how he ran so well. If you watch a video of him running at full speed, he never has more than one hoof on the ground at a time!
Fantastic reaction, Ms. Thames. Knew you’d enjoy. Just have to let you know how I enjoyed you puzzling over AJ Michlka as Kate. The first few times I viewed this film I had no idea who she was. I am old and my music & tv tastes don’t necessarily align with her work, as fine as I’m sure she was/is. It wasn’t until about a year ago on a rewatch that I recognized her from her role on “The Goldbergs” and her own spin-off, “Schooled.” Absolutely remarkable, stacked cast in this film. I appreciate so many, especially the underrated Margo Martindale as Miss Ham and Nelson Ellis (RIP) as Eddie Sweat. Thank you for sharing your reaction.
Nice reaction. I did follow horse racing in 1973. I remember walking in and turning on the evening news. They showed the Belmont stretch run. I remember thinking like Pancho, “That’s impossible.” Just for fun, checkout the talk about 2022 Breeders’ Cup champion, Flightline. I think he skipped the Triple Crown races due to some infirmity. I believe they thought he had Triple Crown abilities.
Great reaction! Now react to Dreamer, another race horse movie, based on another true story starring Kirk Russell, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson!
Great movie. Some good life lessons here. Enjoyed your thoughtful reaction Maddison. I know you have a soft spot for horsey films. Can I suggest an unbelievably now 80 year old film from 1944, that I know you will absolutely love. You will cry happy tears. A very young Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor. A lovely film you will not regret watching and reviewing. Will keep my fingers crossed.
A new Zealand horse named Phar Lap was a great one too. Have you seen The Man from Snowy River, 1&2? Kirk Douglas played a double Role. Great horse movie.
The Disney-fied version of Secretariat. It’s still a good story but the true story is better. I hate that this movie totally ignored Riva Ridge but I understand why it did. Riva was a year older than Secretariat & it was his winnings that saved the farm. Riva won 17 of his 30 starts including the Champagne, Futurity, Bluegrass, Hollywood Derby as well as the KY Derby & Belmont Stakes. Penny Tweedy famously said that Secretariat belong to the world but Riva belonged to her. I also hate that they made Sham the villain. Sham was a great horse, it was just his misfortune to be born the same year as Secretariat. Sham also finished the Derby in less than 2 minutes & he did it with his mouth pouring blood. When the gate opened Sham hit his head on the edge of the starting stall so hard he knocked his teeth out. He ran the entire race with his teeth flopping around on a strip of gum & blood running out of his mouth. At the start of the Preakness he was mugged & squeezed & slammed into the rail so badly that after the race he was bruised & bartered & sore. And just like Secretariat, Sham’s heart was much larger than normal. I admire him just as much as I do Secretariat. They were both great horses,
Sham wasn’t made the villain. Not sure there even _was_ a “villain.” Pancho Martin’s character was made abrasive, fair or not. Nothing at all even implied about Sham though.
Thank you for your reaction, Madison! Secretariat is my favorite racehorse of all time. Loved this movie since the first time I saw it. I still cry every time when the song kicks in at the end of the Belmont race! He was a magnificent animal! Still want to urge you to check out "National Velvet" if you've never seen it. It's free on Tubi.
You might be interested in watching "Ride like a girl " . Its about Michelle Payne who rode Prince of Penzance , 100/1 long shot , to victory in the Melbourne Cup. She was the first ever female jockey to win the Cup . Melbourne Cup is the Premier 3200 metre ( 2 mile ) handicap race in the World.
