Nothing can really beat the surge you get from watching a horse race, and not just because you have the chance of making a small fortune if your horse is the one to cross the finish line first. Surprise, surprise, things moving fast is always exciting, and the world of horse racing has enough true life stories to keep your interest beyond the actual racing. So here are just a few for you to keep an eye out for, and if this list gets you in the mood for horse betting - just click here...
The Story of Seabiscuit
While 2003’s Oscar nominated Seabiscuit may the most well movie based on the life of the most popular race horse during America’s Great Depression, it wasn’t the first time this tale was committed to film. That honour belongs to The Story of Seabiscuit from 1949, which, while it was filmed in technicolour, featured actual black and white footage of the legendary race horse in action, including what is considered by many to be the greatest horse race of all time, his 1938 race against rival War Admiral. Seabiscuit’s own son, Sea Sovereign, took on the title role, while Shirley Temple starred alongside him, taking centre stage in a tacked on romantic subplot. It may have been widely panned, but the real life race footage more than makes up for the rest of the movie.
Secretariat
From one champion Thoroughbred to another, with Secretariat chronicling the life of the first U.S. Triple Crown in twenty five years, who snagged the honour in 1975. But it was really the story behind his record setting three race wins that the movie was really concerned with, chronicling the trials and tribulations of Diane Lane’s Penny Chenery, who, with no real knowledge of the world of horse racing, took over her ailing father’s stable to fulfil his dream of winning the Kentucky Derby. And while the recreation of the title horse’s legendary races may be the movie at its most exciting, they can’t really hold a candle to John Malkovich’s horse trainer Lucien Laurin and his amazing wardrobe.
Shergar
In February of 1982, the Irish bred, British trained Shergar was stolen from a stud farm near The Curragh, Co. Kildare by masked gunmen, never to be seen again. The real details of the theft are still unknown, the IRA were blamed for the crime, giving Hollywood enough to work with for 1999’s Shergar. While it features the usual bad ‘Oirish’ accents and Ian Holm as a kindly, world weary tinker, it still has an interesting story to tell even if most of the ‘facts’ came from the scriptwriters pen. It also has a pre-The wrestler Mickey Rourke has the trench coat call mastermind behind the horse napping. I’ll let you decide if that’s a good or bad thing.
Hidalgo
For his first movie post Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen took on the tale of American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo, as they competed in a 3,000 mile desert race in Arabia in 1851. With Hopkins being a known con man with a love of tall tales, the authenticity of this claim is in question, but you shouldn’t let the truth get in the way of a old fashioned, swashbuckling adventure that’s rarely seen anymore. I will challenge anyone not to raise from their seat and punch the air as the Gildago pulls out all the stops (after being close to death no doubt) to get himself and Hopkins over that finish lien with the end in sight.
The Story of Seabiscuit
While 2003’s Oscar nominated Seabiscuit may the most well movie based on the life of the most popular race horse during America’s Great Depression, it wasn’t the first time this tale was committed to film. That honour belongs to The Story of Seabiscuit from 1949, which, while it was filmed in technicolour, featured actual black and white footage of the legendary race horse in action, including what is considered by many to be the greatest horse race of all time, his 1938 race against rival War Admiral. Seabiscuit’s own son, Sea Sovereign, took on the title role, while Shirley Temple starred alongside him, taking centre stage in a tacked on romantic subplot. It may have been widely panned, but the real life race footage more than makes up for the rest of the movie.
Secretariat
Shergar
In February of 1982, the Irish bred, British trained Shergar was stolen from a stud farm near The Curragh, Co. Kildare by masked gunmen, never to be seen again. The real details of the theft are still unknown, the IRA were blamed for the crime, giving Hollywood enough to work with for 1999’s Shergar. While it features the usual bad ‘Oirish’ accents and Ian Holm as a kindly, world weary tinker, it still has an interesting story to tell even if most of the ‘facts’ came from the scriptwriters pen. It also has a pre-The wrestler Mickey Rourke has the trench coat call mastermind behind the horse napping. I’ll let you decide if that’s a good or bad thing.
Hidalgo
For his first movie post Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen took on the tale of American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo, as they competed in a 3,000 mile desert race in Arabia in 1851. With Hopkins being a known con man with a love of tall tales, the authenticity of this claim is in question, but you shouldn’t let the truth get in the way of a old fashioned, swashbuckling adventure that’s rarely seen anymore. I will challenge anyone not to raise from their seat and punch the air as the Gildago pulls out all the stops (after being close to death no doubt) to get himself and Hopkins over that finish lien with the end in sight.
