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Chenery focus of upcoming Disney movie Secretariat

Posted: Monday, May 03, 2010 8:02 PM

In searching for the focus of their upcoming movie on Secretariat, the producers and directors kept landing on the relationship between the eventual 1973 Triple Crown winner and owner Penny Chenery.

“I think one of the things we concluded is that Secretariat absolutely would not have been the same horse without Penny,” said Randall Wallace, director of Secretariat, which is scheduled for an October 8 release.

That focus appears to be working as Wallace noted the movie has scored “unbelievably well” with test audiences. Wallace, who wrote the Academy Award winner Braveheart, said the high marks for the Disney film are thanks to its appeal across a wide range of demographics, male and female, young and old.

With much of the focus on Chenery, the real-life, now-87-year-old owner of Secretariat has learned to adjust. She said producers reminded her that the film would take some license for entertainment purposes.

“Seeing yourself in a movie is really weird, but I had such a beautiful person playing the role,” Chen¬ery said of actress Diane Lane. “I’ve adjusted to the revised version of my life.”

Chenery joked that in the film she is “younger and prettier.” Lane, like many of the people associated with the film, became close to Chenery.

“I attempted to live up to Penny’s legacy with Secretariat and her belief in herself,” Lane said. “She had a willingness to go against the odds.”

Lane drew inspiration from Bill Nack’s book, Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, and the Hennegan brothers’ Kentucky Derby (G1) documentary, The First Saturday in May.

Co-producer Mark Ciardi said everyone involved felt a responsibility to tell a story that took more than 30 years to reach the big screen. Chenery was approached by a number of writers and producers many times before committing to this project.

“Penny waited a long time for this story to be told, hopefully properly,” Ciardi said. “It’s perfect material. We’re so happy to do it.”

During production, Wallace decided to put the real-life Chenery in some of the crowd scenes. He asked her if she ever thought she would be an actress.

Without missing a beat, Chenery replied, “This horse can take me anywhere."

Frank Angst is senior staff writer for Thoroughbred Times