Best Horse Racing Movies – A Nice List
Horse racing has an incredibly rich and storied history, and it’s always been a fantastic subject matter for movies.
If you’re looking for movies to watch about horse racing, look no further—I’ve compiled a list of my favorite movies about horse racing from across the last century and more recent ones.
There’s something for everyone here, from comedy to drama, so read on and I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy.
A Day at the Races (1937)
Where better to start than with the Marx brothers?
In this hilarious and timeless comedy, a veterinarian posing as a doctor, a race-horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanatorium open as a local businessman wants to buy it and turn it into a casino.
The misfit race horse Hi-Hat helps them do this during a day at the races.
A great, classic, horse-racing comedy.
The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
Sea Biscuit.
Undoubtedly the most famous name in horse racing history.
In this account of her life, horse trainer Shawn and his niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the painful memory of an accident involving Margaret’s brother.
Shawn takes a liking to a young horse named Seabiscuit and fights to convince the owner that this unassuming little horse will make a great racehorse.
A fantastic account of the life of Seabiscuit.
The Galloping Major (1951)
Basil Radford and Janette Scott star in another timeless classic comedy of horse racing.
In this hilarious movie, a horse lover sets up a syndicate to buy a particular racehorse that he’s had his eye on.
However, when he accidentally buys the wrong horse, he quickly learns that this horse is useless on the flat.
So, they decide to turn him into a show jumper instead.
An instant hit at the time, it has stood the test of time and is still both hilariously funny and a great account of the horse business.
The Black Stallion (1979)
This is an incredibly touching movie with a lot of heart, starring Kelly Reno as Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with a wild Arabian stallion whom he eventually befriends.
After the two are rescued, Alec is keen to enter his new friend into the races.
This movie won an Oscar for sound editing at the time and was added to the 2002 annual selection of motion pictures deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Phar Lap (1983)
You’ll find a lot of true stories in the world of horse racing cinema, and Phar Lap is one of the best.
Directed by Simon Wincer, it tells the true story of an Australian racehorse that became a champion with the help of a local schoolboy.
Phar Lap was a real racehorse and this movie tells the story of all his triumphs in an incredibly compelling and uplifting way.
A great movie and educational, too. Phar Lap is certainly a lesser-known racehorse.
Shergar (1999)
Anyone who knows anything about horse racing knows about Shergar, the racehorse who was kidnapped from his home in Ireland in the 1980s by the IRA.
Written and directed by Dennis C. Lewiston, this dramatized movie tells the story of a young stable boy who runs away from his reform school and befriends Shergar.
Later on, he attempts to rescue the horse when he is kidnapped by the IRA.
A fantastic movie that does a great job of telling the story of this infamous event.
Racing Stripes (2005)
Now, I know a zebra isn’t a horse.
But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a movie about horse racing!
Directed by Frederik Du Chau, Racing Stripes tells the story of an abandoned zebra who grows up believing he is a racehorse, and sets out to achieve the dream of racing with thoroughbreds with the help of his barnyard friends and a teenage girl.
A great comedy with a lot of heart that also has something real to say about the racing industry.
The Derby Stallion (2005)
Directed by Craig Clyde and starring Charles Black and Bill Cobbs and Zac Efron, The Derby Stallion is the story of a former horse racer down on his luck who sees a unique gift of horsemanship in a young boy named Patrick, and wishes to train him.
Beautiful cinematography and a true feel-good story make this one of the most enjoyable horse racing movies I’ve ever seen.
Secretariat (2010)
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Secretariat tells the story of Penny Chenery Tweedy and her precocious racehorse Secretariat, who won the illustrious Triple Crown in 1973.
The Triple Crown is one of the greatest achievements any racehorse can make, and Secretariat still holds the world record for the fastest time to win.
This is a great dramatization of those events, and tells a very inspiring story about a horse at the pinnacle of its competition.
The Cup (2011)
Directed by Simon Wincer who also brought us Phar Lap back in 1983, The Cup is the true story of the 2002 Melbourne Cup horse race.
It tells the story of two brothers and the triumph of the human spirit.
It documents Damien Oliver’s victory that year and follows some of the finest horsemen in the world to the competition plotted from across the globe.
Wincer excels at dramatizing true stories, and The Cup is another fantastic example of that.
Horse racing movies have been rich and frequent throughout the years, and that really shows no signs of slowing down.
Whether you’re looking for comedy, drama, biography, true stories or just an incredibly exciting depiction of horse racing and horse shows, any of these movies is a great option for you.
From the Marx Brothers to the true story of the 2002 Melbourne Cup, everything is available in horse racing movies.