Horse Racing Movies – Where Horse and Man Become One

Join us as we explore some of the best horse racing movies of the last two centuries. Each story has a lot to tell as they are not simply about a racetrack and some jockeys. Rather than that, each movie takes you on a different journey where you see the emotions and mutual connection between horse and human. We are sure that you will find our list intriguing as it consists of reputable classics and brand-new hits.

Ready your saddle, an exciting ride awaits! From here on, in our horse racing movies blog post, you will come across some of the best titles in the genre. We will begin by looking at some of the most iconic releases from the previous century and make it all the way to the present day. To assist you in jumping through the decades, we have included a quick navigation box with a few convenient milestones below.

List of the Best Horse Racing Movies

1. National Velvet (1944)

Let us begin with a movie released during the troublesome times of the Second World War, more precisely, in 1944. The film is based on the 1935 novel of the same name, and the production is seen as one of the pioneers of movies about horse racing. National Velvet is directed by Clarence Brown and stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, and a young Elizabeth Taylor. Later, in 2003, National Velvet was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

On its release, the movie was seen as a breath of fresh air amidst the ongoing war’s pain and trauma. National Velvet tells the story of the 12-year-old girl, Velvet Brown, who lives in the small town of Sewels in Sussex, England. She wins a spirited gelding in a raffle, and due to her affection towards horses, she decides to train him for the Grand National Steeplechase.

Velvet names her steed “the Pie” and begins training her horse with the help of the penniless young drifter Mi Taylor. With the financial aid of her mother, Velvet, Mi, and Pie make their way to the Grand National, named one of the biggest horse races in Europe. On a side note, the Grand National is still an active tournament today and the competition is followed by multiple sports channels and the best gambling sites.

Initially, the party hires a professional jockey, but Velvet senses he lacks faith in her horse; thus, the young girl dismisses him and takes the reigns herself. Velvet and Pie win the race, but as soon as the authority finds out she is a girl, she is disqualified. Regardless, Velvet and Pie receive a lot of attention from the media, even getting them an invitation to Hollywood to tell their story. Velvet refuses the offer and returns to the normal life that she and her horse once had.

2. The Black Stallion (1979)

Second, on our list of the best horse racing movies, we have the Black Stallion. The 1979 production is an American adventure movie, based on the 1941 classic children’s novel of the same name by Walter Farley. The Black Stallion is set in 1946 and tells the story of Alec Ramsey.

The protagonist is shipwrecked on a deserted island at an unknown location, with a black Arabian stallion as his only company. With time, Alec befriends the stallion, and they become a fearsome duo. After being rescued back to America, Alec finds out how fast Black is. Thus, the protagonist decides to train his stallion for the racetrack.

In order to enter a local race, Alec invites the press to witness Black’s performance in a secret night-time demonstration. Everyone is amazed by the speed of the mysterious black horse and his rider, resulting in an invitation to the race. There, despite Black being wounded by one of his opponents, he manages to outrun the two champion steeds by two lengths and wins the championship.

Without a doubt, The Black Stallion is one of the best horse racing movies of all time, scoring $37.8 million at the box office, with an initial budget of just $2.7 million. The movie was included in the 2002 annual selection for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. There, the Black Stallion was deemed a great example of the racing horse movies genre and referred to as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Other films with the same characteristics can also be found among the best gambling movies and TV shows.

3. Seabiscuit (2003)

Next on, we have the 2003 American sports film production, Seabiscuit. This classic horse racing movie is written and directed by Gary Ross and based on the best-selling 1999 non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The movie adaptation stars many recognisable actors like Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens, and William H. Macy.

Anyhow, Seabiscuit shares with us the story of three men who fixed a broken-down horse, and how the horse, Seabiscuit, fixed those same three men. The main characters of the movie are Charles Howard, Red Pollard, and Tom Smith. Howard is the largest car dealer in California and one of the richest men in the Bay Area. After the death of his son, and the divorce from his wife, Howard decides to distract himself from that reality and purchases a stable for racehorses.

Once a stable owner, Howard hires a skilled horse trainer and drifter, Tom, who convinces him to purchase Seabiscuit. The trainer insists on that horse due to its “incorrigible” lineage. Not long after the training has begun, Tom meets Pollard, a tough Canadian with a history in illegal boxing matches. Fortunately, the half-blind brawler’s spirit matches Seabiscuit’s, and they become a successful race duo. Similar to Мatt and “Worm” from the Rounders movie, this duet results in something big, but we will not spoil it any further!

4. Hidalgo (2004)

The 2004 epic biographical western production Hidalgo is perhaps one of the most exciting and iconic horse racing movies based on a true story. The movie is based on the legend of the American distance rider, Frank Hopkins, and his famous mustang, Hidalgo. It is directed by Joe Johnson, written by John Fusco, and has a run time of 136 minutes. Also, the 2004 movie stars Viggo Mortensen, famous for playing in the Lord of the Rings, together with Omar Sharif and Said Taghmaoui.

In reality, the story of Frank T. Hopkins has been disputed even to exist, as he was a professional con-artist, but regardless of if it is a fact or fiction, it has become a great movie. Anyhow, Hidalgo begins as Frank T. Hopkins and his mustang as a part of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. One day, Frank is visited by Sheikh Riyadh’s attaché Aziz, who invites the western duo to enter the “Ocean of Fire”.

The competition is an annual 3,000-mile race across the Najd desert region in the Arab Peninsula. Respectively, Frank accepts the invitation as he is eager to seek adventure and compete with the fastest horses in the known world.

Throughout the race, Hopkins faces multiple obstacles and challenges. Soon enough, Hopkins realises that “Ocean of Fire” is a race filled with numerous challenges and obstacles. He and his horse need to overcome sandy dunes, heat, and wind while defending themselves from other riders’ murder attempts. Anyhow, you should definitely watch this horse racing movie based on a true story and find out how it all ends.

5. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)

Moving onto the next year – 2005, with another breathtaking addition to the American racing horse movies collection. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story is director John Gatin’s directorial debut. The movie is a sports drama film starring Kurt Russel, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, and Dakota Fanning, which had a budget of $32 million while generating only $38 million at the box office.

Ben (Kurt Russell) is a horse trainer who prioritises work and over his daughter Cale (Dakota Fanning). One day, when Ben takes his daughter to the racetracks, one of the horses he takes care of falls badly and injures herself. The owner wants to put down the steed, but persuaded by Cale, Ben strikes a bargain and buys the horse.

Alas, the trainer successfully purchases the racehorse but loses his job in the process. Later on, Ben’s plans to at least make some profit from breeding Sonya fall apart, as he finds out that she cannot have babies.

Fortunately, the tides begin to turn when Cale and her father discover that Sonya has recovered and is still quite fast. Because of that, they decide to race her in the Breeder’s Cup Classic. With Manny taking the jockey role, Sonya outruns the competition, and the duo becomes victorious.

6. Ruffian (2007)

Following up, we have another one of the amazing horse racing movies based on a real story Ruffian. The American television film follows the story of the US Racing Hall of Fame Thoroughbred filly Ruffian. Anyhow, before we move onto the summary of the tale, we wish to mention a few quick things:

First, the Ruffian is made by ESPN Original Entertainment and stars Sam Shepard as Ruffian’s trainer, also Laura Bailey, and Frank Whaley. Also, the movie was released on June 9, 2007, and has a run time of 89 minutes. In some moments, the way that the movie was shot reminds us of the Let It Ride movie from 1989, but of course, with a much more modern style.

The movie introduces us to Ruffian, a young thoroughbred racehorse with 10 victories in a row. During most of those horse races, Ruffian was outclassing the competition. Nevertheless, in July 1975, as she was three years old, she was sent to enter a highly anticipated match race with Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. Sadly, during the race, Ruffian fell and broke down on the racetrack.

The three-year-old champion was taken from the racetracks and driven straight to surgery, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Ruffian reacted poorly after coming out of the anaesthesia, and the only option for the doctors was to have her euthanised. After she passed away, Ruffian was ranked by The Blood-Horse magazine among the top American racehorses of the 20th century. Today, gambling in Kentucky is still mostly associated with horse racing.

7. Secretariat (2010)

The next horse racing movie on our list is the Secretariat. The genre is a biographical sports drama film produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, distributed by Walt Disney, and officially released in theatres in October 2010. The script of the movie is written by Mike Rich and directed by Randall Wallace. The movie is based on William Nack’s book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, back in 1975. With a budget of just $35 million, the movie scored $60.7 million at the box office.

The story’s plot follows Penny as the leading character who returns to her family home upon learning about her mother’s death and takes charge of her family’s Meadow Stables. Despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge and struggles in turningthe horse stable back to profitability, with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin, she manages to navigate herself through the business.

After a decisive coin flip on two well-bred horses, Penny ends up with the underdog of the two Secretariat. Penny is determined that hard work and training can lead the Somethingroyal’s colt to become the first winner of the Triple Crown in 25 years. Not only that, but the “Big Red” horse won the Kentucky Derby and the Peakness in record time. The pinnacle of the movie is when Penny’s horse runs with unbelievable pace and secures the Triple Crown.

8. 50 to 1 (2014)

If you enjoy watching horse racing movies based on a true story, you probably should want to watch 50 to 1. Even though the American cowboy drama generated only $1,064,454 despite its initial budget of $10 million, it is still a notable member of the racing horse movies genre. The 50 to 1 film was directed by Jim Wilson and starred Skeet Ulrich, Christian Kane and William Devane, which showed an outstanding performance and brought the characters to life.

The story of 50 to 1 begins by introducing the viewer to the life of a misfit group of New Mexico cowboys. Surprisingly for the fellowship, their undersized thoroughbred racehorse succeeded in qualifying for the famous Kentucky Derby, so their adventure began. Lifted by this opportunity of a lifetime they gather their equipment and set off for the Churchill Downs.

The cowboys’ journey turns out to be very difficult and is accompanied by numerous crazy mishaps. Despite all odds, they manage to reach the Kentucky Derby, where the world’s racing elite will compete for the grand prize. Once the race begins, the undersized thoroughbred racehorse, Mine That Bird, leaves all spectators speechless as he pulls off a monumental upset at 50 to 1 odds by winning the 2009 trophy.

9. Walk. Ride. Rodeo. (2019)

As we are galloping closer to the end of our blog post, we thought we should look at the horse racing movies on Netflix. Thus, we ran into the incredible American biopic by Conor Allyn, Walk. Ride. Rodeo. The movie is based on a screenplay by Sean Dwyer and Greg Cope White, which tells the life of Amberley Snyder. Walk. Ride. Rodeo stars Missi Pyle, Spencer Locke, Bailey Chase, and Sherri Shepherd.

Amberley Snyder is a 19-year-old nationally ranked rodeo barrel racer who spends most of her time training with Power at her home farm in Utah. One day, as she makes her way to Denver, Amberley loses control of her truck and crashes, leaving her paraplegic. She is rushed to the hospital, where doctors managed to save her but confirm that she will never be able to walk again.

At first, Amberley struggles to adjust to her condition, but she learns to drive with much determination and passion once more. That brings her to the realisation that she can still ride a horse if she attaches a seat belt to the saddle. We do not wish to give away anything else from the film because we genuinely believe this is one of the greatest horse racing movies based on a real story. Hence, go and watch the movie!

10. Rock My Heart (2019)

Let us close up our blog with one final title from the horse racing movies on Netflix, Rock My Heart. This film is a 2017 German drama directed by Hanno Olderdissen and written by Clemente Fernandez-Gil and Hanno Olderdissen. Amongst the cast of Rock My Heart, fans of the German cinematography will recognise names like Milan Peschel, Annette Frier, Dieter Hallervorden, and Vedat Erincin.

The Rock My Heart movie tells the story of 17-year-old Jana (Lena Klenke), who suffers from a congenital heart condition. Surprisingly, Jana forms an unlikely bond with a wild and unruly black stallion. That friendship gets the young teenager recruited by the racehorse trainer, Paul Brenner (Dieter Hallervorden), as his next prospective jockey. But enough with that, we will let you experience this great addition to the category of movies about horse racing on your own!

The Rock My Heart movie does not present any of the sports betting aspects of the horse races. Therefore, if you enjoy streaming movies on Netflix and want to spice your usual movie routine with some dice and cards, we recommend the best gambling movies on Netflix.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that you have enjoyed our selection of horse racing movies, and we in case you have some unanswered queries, we are here to help! In the following section, we have gathered some of the most frequently asked questions and answered them for you.

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