Fancast: The Big Picture

By Todd Gold
Fancast.com

While Big Brown's shocking loss in Saturday's 140th running of the Belmont Stakes continues to generate speculation, controversy and reams of fascinating copy -- what happened to the big bay, why did jokey Kent Desormeaux pull him up two-thirds of the way around the track, was the horse out of shape, are steroids an issue -- it inspired me to compile a list of the 10 best horseracing movies.

10. Ruffian (2007): A look at the life of the thoroughbred filly that dominated horse racing in the early 1970s.
9. The Winner's Circle (1948): The exciting world of racing provides the backdrop for this adventure that is unusual because it is told from a race horse's viewpoint. Special guest horses include: Man O'War, Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, Gallant Fox, Phar Lap, and Equipoise.
8. Champions (1983): John Hurt plays the British jockey Bob Champion in this true story of how Champion overcame cancer and the rigors of chemotherapy for an impressive personal and professional comeback.
7. Broadway Bill (1934): A runaway heiress and her sister's husband join forces to race the latter's fast horse, Broadway Bill.
6. Charlie Chan at the Racetrack (1936): When a friend of Charlie's is found kicked to death by his own race horse on board a Honolulu-bound liner, the detective discovers foul play and uncovers an international gambling ring.
5. Racing Stripes (2005): An abandoned zebra (voice of Frankie Muniz) grows up believing he is a racehorse, and, with the help of his barnyard friends and a teenage girl (Hayden Panettiere), sets out to achieve his dream of racing with thoroughbreds.
4. Saratoga (1937): A horse breeder's (Lionel Barrymore) granddaughter (Jean Harlow) falls in love with a gambler (Clark Gable) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
3. National Velvet (1944): A jaded former jockey helps a young girl (Elizabeth Taylor) prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes.
2. A Day at the Races (1937): A vet posing as a doctor (Groucho Marx as Hugo Z. Hackenbush), a race horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit racehorse.
1. Seabiscuit (2003): True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of the nation as well.