Secretariat

The Impossible True Story

2010 • 123 min • Drama

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Synopsis

Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery - with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin - manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

Our family guide

Best from age 8

Movie Knight Score

645 reviews

100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
74 Audience · 643 · 49%

Penny Chenery takes over her family's horse racing stables and, against the odds, navigates the male-dominated world to campaign the legendary racehorse Secretariat. This inspiring true story follows their journey to win the Triple Crown.

Violence & peril: 1/10
Language: 1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 0/10
Romance & sensuality: 0/10
Scary moments: 1/10

Heads up

A horse is shown being euthanized (off-screen).
Brief, mild moments of peril during races.
Some characters smoke cigarettes.

What it models well

Perseverance and determination
Breaking barriers and defying expectations
Family loyalty and sacrifice
Sportsmanship and respect

Talk about it after

The challenges Penny faced in a male-dominated industry.
What it takes to pursue a dream.
The history behind Secretariat's Triple Crown win.

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Secretariat. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

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Top billed cast

Director: Randall Wallace • Crew: Mike Rich

Reviewer notes

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of Diane Lane and John Malkovich, the film itself may not match those two but it still makes for a pleasant time. This is another sports drama from Disney and another film about horses, of which they have been a fair amount down the decades from the studio.…
r96sk, TMDB Community

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
Quite decent story telling. Not too big pretensions and nice performance from a well chosen cast. The story is quite stereotypical but it is well done.
Andres Gomez, TMDB Community