Customer Reviews

The Life & Times of Secretariat, an American Racing Legend

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had bought the original videotape of ESPN's "Life and Times of Secretariat," and the original videotape of "Big Red's Last Race," about the 1973 Canadian International. It is nice to have both documentaries on the same disc.

But best of all, ALL of Secretariat's twenty-one starts are included on the disc. Almost all of them are shown in their entirety (only the very early races aren't totally complete). I am assuming all of the footage from these races came from owner Penny Chenery's private collection.

It was great to watch Big Red's races from his two-year-old season in 1972. I had never seen any of those races before. From the time Red won the Hopeful, turf writers from all over the country were hailing him as the second coming of Man O'War. He of course didn't disappoint. His five losses were interesting to see, and in the cases of the 1973 Whitney and Woodward, see again. It was clear he never should have lost a race.

I was extremely impressed with his first race on grass, the 1973 Man O'War. Jockey Ron Turcotte claimed Secretariat was better on the grass than he was on the dirt, and he had mentioned the horse seemed almost deer-like when he ran on the grass. In this race, Secretariat went up against the top grass horse in the United States, Tentam. Tentam did his best to try and catch Secretariat, who was on the lead most of the way in the race, but he couldn't do it.

Secretariat's best performance was arguably the inaugural Marlboro Invitational. In that race, initially intended as a match race between he and stablemate Riva Ridge, there were ultimately FIVE champions in that race, including Secretariat, Riva Ridge, Kennedy Road, Key to the Mint, and Cougar II. No single race since has had that many champions. Secretariat caught Riva Ridge at the top of the stretch and coasted home in world-record time, a record which stood for many years.

The DVD is expensive, but to see all of those races again it was worth the money.

I was eager to see this documentary about Secretariat and unfortunately, this DVD doesn't do justice to this great horse. The sound quality is very inconsistent, sometimes it's very loud and other times you can hardly hear the announcer. I was told that there would be subtitles on this film. It is hard to understand the jockey, trainer and groom and there are NO subtitles to help you figure out what they are mumbling. One bright spot is the owner's interview: You CAN understand her and also the narrator. The films of the races are of poor quality. You don't learn anything about Secretariat's life off of the race track. The PBS documentary, "American Experience" for Seabiscuit was much, much better than this effort for Secretariat. I wouldn't recommend spending $50 on this product.

If you were lucky enough to see Big Red win the Triple Crown, even on TV, this DVD will bring back many of those wonderful memories. Although tapes on the races are on Youtube, they are usually fuzzy; the DVD comes across as clear as the races themselves did. The interviews with Ms. Penny Tweedy, Lucien Lauren, and Ron Turcotte are great. A few things shocked me, like Mr. Lauren knowing Secretariat had an abcess in his mouth and racing him anyway, without telling Ms. Tweedy or Ron. If you want to remember the greatest horse of the century (alright, I didn't see Man 'O War), this is the one to get.

I really wanted and expected to like this - I mean I love that it has the footage of all of Secretariat's races, but the documentary itself does him no justice. This is supposed to be honoring one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time and the quality of the documentary is crappy - for a $50 DVD I expected a lot more. For Secretariat I expected a lot better. I couldn't stop cringing when they played that cheesy Bryan Adams song in the background to Secretariat's racing footage! Ugh.

Poor Secretariat is probably rolling over in his grave!

It's like they hired a cheap wedding videographer to put this together - Not worth $50 - Wait till they drop the price or something better comes along.

For $50 I was expecting a professionally produced product with extensive coverage of Secretariat's life. I appreciate the biographical information; I don't appreciate the cheesy song at the end. I especially don't appreciate the gaps in the playback - similar to the kinds of breaks in continuity you get on a scratched record. I wouldn't mind so much if it cost less. I get more comprehensive, more enjoyable coverage from the pieces on YouTube.

While other teenagers screamed over the Beatles, I screamed over Secretariat's Triple Crown win. I still choke up thinking about, reading or talking about him. He was my personal hero. Although a bit pricey, this DVD includes all his pertinent races (thanks to Penny Cherney). The sound quality is uneven, but after all it is from a personal collection over 35 years ago.

I also highly recommend :Secretariat: The Making of a Champion

Why am I writing about this DVD now? Esp. since I have owned it since 2005? There is a movie about to be released in the theaters this summer (2010) about Big Red. Give me some tissues, I'll be standing in line.

All Hail Secretariat!

I was a horse crazy nine year old and my first introduction to horse racing was Secretariat's Triple Crown. I have read a few books on Secretariat, was lucky enough to meet Penney Chenery, Ron Tucotte, Eddie Maple, Jim Gaffney, and have a VHS tape of all the Triple Crown winners. Yet, I did not think I would ever see any of his non-Triple Crown races, until this DVD. It was thrilling to watch! Secretariat raced in 1972-1973, so the racing film is 30+ years old now and grainy. It is a shame that it wasn't digitally remastered before putting it out on DVD, but this is wonderful video biography of one of America's greatest racehorses. At least, you can SEE his talent and power, instead of just imagining it by reading the books. I did find it a bit pricey for one DVD, but I hope some of the proceeds are going to laminitis research.

this was a very good biography of secretariat. his triumphs and his disappointments. He was the greatest race horse i have ever known. This dvd goes into detail of his life and the people who loved him. i recommend this dvd to any racing fan.

This is a great DVD of Secretariat for new and old fans of Secretariat and for horseracing fans in general. The section of the video on tapes of all his races is fantastic footage. There is additional material on this DVD that was not included on the original VHS tape of the same name.

Great dvd. Really captured Secretariat's rise to icon status. Great to relive triple crown races and how he not only won triple crown but did with such great determination. He helped revive horse racing.