As long as this thread is bumped, I might as well comment.
I agree with a lot of the criticisms here - trying to make it an underdog story about the owner was just ridiculous. I think there could have been a lot of fertile ground here in focusing on the horse, and in letting the audience in on the esoterica of horse racing, and what made Secretetariat great (mostly DNA), Hollywood never seems to trust what truly makes any historical figure interesting. Even with human subjects, they always make the movies about who those people were fucking rather than what actually made them famous.
I also hate that Hollywood thinks that every portrayal of an athletic cometition has to be some good vs evil allegory, and that the hero always has to be an underdog. Secretariat was exhilirating to watch because he was so freakishly dominating. What’s wrong with exploring and celebrating sheer virtuosity for its own sake?
I was also really embarrassed for Nelsan Ellis, who is so great on True Blood, having to play such a cringe-inducing, anachronistic, happy negro character. Ellis deserves a lot better. I guess his mother needed an operation or something.