Secretariat

Most people who grew up in the 70s know of Secretariat's accomplishments in horse racing, but the film does a good job of presenting the stakes at risk for Penny Chenery and her family in committing to raising and racing Secretariat.

The story is told in a nod to filmmaking of that era, not too showy, but serviceable.  Diane Lane is fine as Penny, though some of the family subplots don't quite gel with the primary storyline, that of Secretariat's run for the Triple Crown.   The audience I saw it film with was very into the horse racing scenes, lots of applause during the film at those times (which always struck me as odd, but hey, the audience was into the film).  I did wish the colt that was cast as Secretariat was a little larger in size.

If you're interested in the legend of Secretariat, definitely worth a matinee viewing.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.