..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

Considering how much it costs for the care and feeding of Thoroughbreds, it would be difficult to argue that horse racing isn’t still the sport of kings, or, at least, some very wealthy pretenders to the crown. Even so, when it comes to movies about race horses, the appeal is far more populist.

While studios love to back sure bets, it’s the longshots that tend to pay off big at the box-office. It helps explains Hollywood’s long and mutually beneficial relationship with a sport that celebrates its 50-to-1, come-from-behind winners far more than those blue-blooded colts born, bred and purchased with the expectation of adding a Triple Crown to the owner’s resume.

Ever since population of the United States shifted from being predominantly rural, to overwhelmingly urban, many of our first impressions of the sport have come from watching movies set at racetracks, breeding farms and, of course, westerns. From a screenwriter’s point of view, of course, there’s no more dependable place than a Santa Anita or Belmont Park to find eccentric characters, screaming fans, dramatic finishes and life-changing pay-offs.

“It’s probably the only sport where an owner can be destroyed financially in just two minutes,” allowed John Gatins, who wrote and directed Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, a family drama in which the sweet smell of bluegrass is palpable. “The stakes are incredibly high. My movie is about a family that comes together to beat the Yankees.”

Once the exclusive province of the rich and royal, horse racing’s great popularity as a spectator sport, especially in the period between the world wars, evolved almost simultaneously with that of the cinema. This, even though the sport maintained traditions and rituals that originated long before the invention of the motion-picture camera.

Movies about horse racing have tended to fall into two distinct categories: the first involves heart-tugging, against-all-odds stories, such as those told in Seabiscuit, Phar Lap, Casey‘s Shadow, National Velvet and, even, the Marx Brothers’ A Day at the Races. In the second, racetracks and bookie joints have provided a backdrop for comedies (Sorrowful Jones, Let It Ride), crime dramas (The Killers, The Grifters), cons and capers (The Sting, The Lemon Drop Kid) and musicals (Guys and Dolls, Broadway Melody of 1933).

Kids, too, have been a fixture in movies about racing. As rites of passage go, it’s tough to beat those in which a child campaigns against sending an injured or otherwise hapless horse from the glue factory, thereby affording it a second chance at immortality. They often are required to do this while simultaneously struggling to keep a family from disintegrating under the strain of economic adversity.

Dreamer is the latest example of exactly this sort of a film. And, while the facts of the story don’t always square with anyone’s version of reality, Gatins effectively re-created the fervor and dedication required of those who fantasize of someday being associated with the development of a champion.

“Hope can be a dangerous word in this business,” adds Gatins, who was raised near the historic Saratoga racetrack, in upstate New York, and would go on to write Hard Ball, Coach Carter and Summer Catch. “Horse players often say they’d rather be lucky than good, and that’s what happened when I cast Dreamer. Getting the actors l did was a 50-1 shot that paid off, just like Giacomo, in the derby.

“The first break came when I was able to convince Kurt Russell to take a chance on the movie. When we got Dakota Fanning, Ben Crane’s son quickly turned into a girl.”

Crane (Kurt Russell) plays the hard-luck trainer of the promising filly Sonador -- Sonya, for short -- whose rise to glory was interrupted by a broken leg suffered in a racing accident. Her owner (David Morse) blamed Ben for the injury, and insults him by handing over the damaged steed in lieu of severance pay.

Instead of giving in to expediency and the cold realities of the game, Cale Crane (Fanning, in a typically winning performance) urges her father to do whatever it takes to nurse Sonya back to health. Against his better judgment, Ben gives in to his daughter’s pleading, literally betting the farm that the filly’s leg might heel, if she’ll only tolerate being hoisted off her feet in a sling device for several weeks.

At this point, none of the movie’s central characters -- well played by Elisabeth Shue, Kris Kristofferson, Freddy Rodriguez and Luis Guzman -- expects Sonya to return to training. A best-case scenario would find Sonya healthy enough to bear foals to carry on the bloodline … and, of course, keep the family off welfare.

Miraculously, the filly’s leg recovers to the point where she not only can stand, but is also capable of sprinting away from her handlers. Ben’s bad-luck streak continues, though, with the news that Sonya is infertile.

Just as the bank is about to foreclose on Ben’s farm, a runaway Sonya demonstrates just how much her leg has improved, while being chased by a truck through the fields near her barn. Her speed surprises everyone at the farm -- including Ben’s estranged horseman father (Kristofferson) -- prompting Cale to ask her beleaguered dad for one more favor: to train Sonya back into race shape.

In the time it will take most experienced horse players to recall the story of Mariah’s Storm -- another promising filly whose career was threatened by a fractured left front cannon bone --the Crane’s team has Sonya fit and ready for a claiming race. That won, the seed of a dream of running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic is sown in Cale’s mind, as well.

Seabiscuit would appear to be the model upon which DreamWorks is building its marketing campaign for Dreamer. Although Gatins’ story wasn’t adapted from a best-selling work of non-fiction, it’s the second half of the title, “Inspired by a True Story,” that is expected to resonate with horse-racing fans.

Despite an elaborate marketing campaign, the opening weekend for Gary Ross’ film only inspired a purse of $20.8 million. Word-of-mouth would soon prove to be a far more effective way of getting audiences’ attention. Five weeks later, Seabiscuit passed the $100 million barrier, on its way to a pre-DVD domestic gross of $123 million.

Much less expensive to make and market, Dreamer would only have to capture a fraction of that box-office total to be considered a success. Notwithstanding an extensive television campaign, a weak field and promotional events at racetracks -- where fans already are gearing up for the Breeders’ Cup, on October 29 -- the decidedly family-oriented drama will need a lot of buzz if it hopes to cross the finish line first on Sunday night.

“Originally, the studio planned to open the film on Christmas Day, which is a dangerous slot,” Gatins explained. “The new date actually was coincidental to the Breeders’ Cup, but it should help.”

So, too, will any traction that comes from the “true story” hook, however tenuous.

“I preferred simply going out with ‘The Dreamer,’ but the studio wanted ‘Inspired by a True Story,’” Gatins allowed. “I didn’t want to confuse anyone, or pretend this was the story of Mariah’s Storm.”

If audiences were required to suspend disbelief during Sonya’s rehabilitation -- a process that would require a degree of patience most owners and animals simply don’t possess -- it is when the precocious Cale goes before a panel of sober-faced NTRA officials to convince them Sonya ought to be allowed to compete against the boys in the day’s ultimate competition. The saner choice would be entering her in similarly lucrative races restricted to fillies and mares, but, following Hollywood tradition, why go for the gold when there’s a pot of platinum at the end of the same rainbow?

In fact, though, the real Mariah's Storm did fight her way back from a devastating injury, winning the Arlington Heights Oaks, a Grade III stakes race for 3-year-old fillies, and, in 1995, the Grade III Arlington Matron Handicap. Unlike Sonya, Mariah’s Storm was fertile, and produced some champion foals.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with fairy tales, especially if the racing gods have decided to shed their rays of hope on a character played by a charmer like Fanning, whose recent credits include War of the Worlds and Man on Fire. At the ripe old age of 11, the Georgia native displays all the chutzpah and presence of stars old enough to be her grandparents, and these qualities will free Dreamer audiences to believe in miracles.

Gatins demonstrates his own love for the racing industry by showcasing all the hard work and love that goes into the making of a champion runner. No backstretch worker is ignored, and their sometimes humble duties aren’t reduced to caricature, as often happens.

Early on in the development stage of this project, Gatins made the rounds of the important farms of Kentucky, gleaning knowledge from owners, trainers, breeders, veterinarians, riders and grooms. And, it shows.

Shot in the Bluegrass State and the horsier quadrants of Louisiana, the settings couldn’t be lovelier, or more authentic. Gatins got permission to film in and around the barns of some of the most celebrated breeders and owners, and some very noteworthy stallions show up in cameo appearances.

The success of Seabiscuit in bookstores and at the box-office was reflected in a rush of new business at the nation’s racetracks. Given the competition from dozens of other outdoors activities, and betting opportunities, lovers of the sport would love to see Dreamer become a huge hit, and re-introduce Americans to the beauty and excitement of the sport, as well as the dramas that play out everyday at historically significant venues.

And, there’s no better time to start than Breeders’ Cup day, when the world’s most dominant Thoroughbreds gather each year to add the final chapters to their own autobiographies.

October 21, 2005
- Gary Dretzka

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