Secretariat

Secretariat is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures, written by Mike Rich and Sheldon Turner based largely on William Nack's 1975 book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, with music by Nick Glennie-Smith and directed by Randall Wallace. The film chronicles the life of Thoroughbred race horse Secretariat, winner of the Triple Crown in 1973. Diane Lane plays Secretariat's owner, Penny Chenery, who takes over the Doswell, Virginia, stables of her ailing father Christopher Chenery despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. With the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (played by John Malkovich), she navigates the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Filming took place on location in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and around Lafayette and Carencro, Louisiana. The film premiered in Hollywood on September 30, 2010, and was released in the United States on October 8, 2010, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and earned $60 million on a $35 million budget. Plot In 1969, Denver housewife and mother Penny Chenery learns of her mother's death and returns to her childhood home. She reunites with Mrs. Ham, her father's secretary, and comforts her confused and elderly father. At her mother's funeral, Penny meets Arthur "Bull" Hancock and his son, Seth Hancock, of Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. The Hancocks offer any help she may need during her efforts to bring Meadow Stables back to profitability. Penny's brother Hollis informs her of a dishonest sale that was about to be made by the trainer until their mother stopped him. Penny fires the trainer and asks Bull Hancock to help her find a new trainer. He recommends Lucien Laurin, an aging French Canadian, who initially turns down Penny's offer. Penny's father had made a deal with leading owner Ogden Phipps that if Phipps bred his best stallion (Bold Ruler) to Chenery's two best mares (Somethingroyal and Hasty Matelda), the two owners would each receive one foal, flipping a coin to decide who would choose. Bold Ruler, the stallion, was fast but couldn't last over distances. Hasty Matelda is the obvious choice for her young age, but Somethingroyal's bloodline is made up of many horses with good stamina. Penny hopes to choose Somethingroyal's foal for the interesting mix of speed and stamina.