(As an addendum to the Secretariat trilogy, I am linking to my story that has been on Secretariat.com for the past several weeks. While we’re all in a Secretariat frame of mind, ponder this: What if Big Red had been racing in today high-tech age? That is the assignment I was given. So, forget the movie and the 1970s for a few minutes and try to envision Secretariat running now instead of 37 years ago).
“Secretariat.com is proud to present our new Writers Forum section. Writers Forum consists of periodic articles form some of America's foremost racing writers covering a diverse range variety of topics relating to Secretariat. Our second installment of the Writers Forum features the popular author and racing journalist Steve Haskin pondering the question of Secretariat racing in today's high-tech age. An engaging read adding a new perspective to the world's most famous horse.”
"HIGH-TECH SEC"
By Steve Haskin
Read the story at:
http://www.secretariat.com/WritersForum.htm
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Having had time to let the Secretariat movie sink in even further, I offer another perspective of the film as a Final Turn in this week’s Blood-Horse magazine, which also will appear on Bloodhorse.com. This deals strictly with the film as entertainment and its likely impact on the public. It concludes:
“They (the public) are going to go to be entertained and overwhelmed by the beauty and excitement of Thoroughbred racing and the phenomenon that was Secretariat. And, of course, they are going to be overcome with emotion, as memories of the equine heroes of their own childhood come flooding back.
Director Randall Wallace has brought a new, innovative method of photographing races that brings the audience right into the action, and his extreme close-ups in the starting gate capture the drama, tension, and anticipation that precede a race of the magnitude of the Triple Crown events.
So, one month after seeing the film, the heck with the flaws and the liberties taken. I have come to grips with what this movie was intended to be. It has brought back into public consciousness a legendary athlete that transcended his sport and sports in general, weaving himself into the fabric of American culture. And it tells the story of one woman’s dogged determination in a world she had long since left behind.
I can’t wait to see it again.”
In conclusion to this week-long tribute to Secretariat and the new Disney movie, I have posted two final photos of Big Red with my daughter Mandy taken at Claiborne Farm either in 1985 or’86.
