Secretariat Coming To The Big Screen

A movie about the life and times of Secretariat, with the backing of Walt Disney Studios, is in the works. Filming for the major motion picture could begin as soon as the end of the year according to principles tied to the project. Writer Mike Rich, along with producers Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray were on a tour of the backstretch at Churchill Downs the morning of May 2. They had spent the evening before with Penny Chenery, owner of the 1973 Triple Crown winner.

"We're kind of conceptualizing the project and working on the rights right now," Gray said.

Rich is developing the script with the help of award-winning writer Bill Nack, who wrote the definitive book on Big Red: "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion" and who conducted the backstretch tour. Rich said "Nack is going to be invaluable to us. The great thing about Bill is that I can reference any workout, any fraction…he's like a human Internet."

Rich, Ciardi, and Gray collaborated on the Disney film "The Rookie." Rich has also written screenplays for "Finding Forrester" and "Radio." Ciardi and Gray have also been involved with Disney films "Miracle," and "Invincible."

Diane Lane has just accepted the role of Penny Chenery, a mother and housewife who knew little about horse racing when she took over her ailing father's farm in Virginia which included ownership of Secretariat. Around the time that Secretariat established himself as a horse with serious potential, she was pressured to sell him and everything else after her father died and she was hit with a large inheritance tax.