Secretariat

The 2010 film by Disney connects the horse, one of the most beautiful creations in world, to the Bible with, "More than 3,000 years ago, a man named Jobe complained to God about all his troubles and the Bible tells us that God answered, 'Do you give the horse his strength? Or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?' "

And from this eternal notion of life and creation of how much is given in this world. the viewer comes to a more routine domestic setting of Penny Chenery, a housewife who is in the middle of serving breakfast for her four children, two boys and two girls who range in age from high-school to about fourth grade with the girls being the eldest. It is 1969 in Denver as Penny is busy serving, cooking breakfast and taking grocery lists for her husband's business dinner when the phone rings. When she answers and listens, she drops the batter on the floor. Her mother has passed away and the routine life of one family is about to change. 

When Penny goes back to her family stable, she comes to terms with her father's condition of senility and knows she must either save the stables financially or have them liquidated. In order to retain the stables there has to be someone to run them and Penny wants to take on the role of leader though her husband is not happy about the change in their lives. He takes her interest in non-conventional roles as a type of betrayal and their relationship becomes strained though not overburdened.

On a coin toss Penny wins Big Red, a prodigious colt who later comes to have the official name of Secretariat. He is a stunning and vibrant animal with the right amount of attitude to win. Penny has some business failures along the way when she tries to get buyers on Big Red's exorbitant stud fees before he has won The Triple Crown. But, she was also near desperate not to liquidate her farm. Eventually Secretariat wins race after race to take The Triple Crown with record breaking times. And Penny keeps her farm. 

By Sarah Bahl