Secretariat, Triple Crown Winner

Over the years, we have paid a little bit of attention to horse racing.  It is one of my favorite sports to watch live or on tv.  Yet, we don’t make it a priority.  We keep talking about taking our girls to the horse races, and hopefully next summer we will make it happen.

While we lived in Louisville, we tried to learn as much about the sport as possible.  We went to the Derby.  We went to Oaks.  We’d take little Jade to races during the week so she could feed the race horses mints as they walked past.  We went to the Museum at Churchill Downs and studied all about the winners of the Triple Crown.  We embraced the horse racing culture and loved it.

When we saw the coming attraction for Secretariat, we were counting it as a “must see” and to actually see in the theater instead of through Netflix or Redbox.  To our surprise, the girls both paid attention to the coming attractions and requested the family see Secretariat together.

About a week ago, I got an email that really excited me.  I had received an invitation to a pre-screening of Disney’s Secretariat.  The email said only 2 tickets but when I reserved my 2 tickets, it asked if I needed any more.  Yes please.  4 total.

I hadn’t heard back from them so we got a sitter for the girls.  Jade was sooo bummed.  But then, I got an email saying I had all 4 tickets under my name at the theater and to ask for the Disney representative.

The girls were so excited.

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We found our seats, right next to a very nice gentlemen.  He introduced himself as Tony Toscano (YES, the Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures fame).  I played it cool and was thinking “how cool is that?  I’m at the same showing for this movie as a movie critic.”  When Scott returned to his seat, I introduced him to my now long time friend, Tony Toscano (knowing that Scott would always get his movie know how from Tony on the “Chunga Show”).  We visited until the show started.  He has been doing this for 30 years and edits his own footage.  I’m impressed with him more now than I was before.  And I really enjoyed him before.

***For those of you in Utah that may miss him on the morning radio show, you can still find him on TV!  Yes, all of you outside of Utah can also find him on TV.  He’s broadcast in several countries.

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The movie started.  Ivy kept asking when the baby horse was going to stand up.  I hushed her and had her move to my lap.

My thoughts on the film?  LOVED it.  I cried.  I laughed.  I was nervous.  (I even knew the ending and I was still on the edge of my seat).

Disney does such a wonderful job of making movies out of real life events.  I loved the story of the owner and her family.  I felt her pain while she was on the road, missing her children’s activities but feeling the need to be doing what she was doing.  The story was told beautifully.  The cinematography was spectacular.  I loved racing from the jockey’s view and hearing the horses pound the dirt up close.

Jade loved it.  Ivy thought it was really good but long.  (She fell asleep with a half hour left of the movie).

This is a movie we will own.  It is one that I could easily be convinced to see in the theater for a second time.

***I received 4 free tickets to this screening.  But my opinions are completely my own.

I have bronchitis so I haven’t been out and about taking pictures.  This one is my only one this week.  How sad.

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