Secretariat's story heading to big screen

AP - By STEVE SZKOTAK

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In an era defined by a dispiriting war and a surreal Washington scandal, Secretariat gave Americans and their bruised psyche something to cheer about when the big thoroughbred captured the Triple Crown in 1973.

The racehorse considered by many to be the best ever and the housewife-turned-breeder who soared in a male-dominated sport are now coming to the big screen.

"Secretariat" has begun filming in Kentucky with Diane Lane portraying owner Penny Chenery and John Malkovich cast as trainer Lucien Laurin.

Mayhem Pictures, with the backing of Walt Disney Pictures, is producing "Secretariat." Mayhem's other uplifting sports-themed stories include "Miracle," about the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team, and "The Rookie" and "Invincible," both Walter Mitty tales.

Randall Wallace, who directed "We Were Soldiers," is directing. A fall 2010 release is expected.

Unlike "Seabiscuit," the 2003 movie based on the undersized thoroughbred who buoyed the spirits of a Depression-era nation, "Secretariat" will focus on Chenery's improbable success in the old money, bourbon-sipping world of horse breeding and the chestnut stallion's stirring, record-shattering run for the Triple Crown. Like "Seabiscuit," the nation's mood -- in this case, the era of Watergate and Vietnam -- is key to the storytelling.

"Really, it's Penny's story," producer Mark Ciardi said of Chenery, who left her life in Denver to take over ailing father Christopher Chenery's faltering horse breeding farm 20 miles north of Richmond in Doswell.

"Her coming into a man's world, learning and rekindling this love she had of horse racing," Ciardi said, shorthanding elements of Chenery's story. "She's this woman in a man's world, just doing what she has to do."

Chenery, now 87 and living in Boulder, Colo., is characteristically low-key about the challenges she faced running Meadow Farm, now the home of the State Fair of Virginia.

"It didn't occur to me that I was a woman in a man's field," she said. "I just thought I've got the best horse."

Secretariat was unquestionably that.

Besides his iconic 31-length win in the Belmont Stakes, "Big Red" set records there and the Kentucky Derby that still stand 36 years later. Others -- including the Daily Racing Form -- insist he broke the track record at the Preakness. The disputed official time ultimately was upheld in arbitration.

"He's the best horse I've ever seen -- and not just close, but by lengths," said William Nack, the retired Sports Illustrated writer who wrote "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion," the book upon which the movie draws heavily. He is a consultant for the film.