The First Saturday in May

My daughter convinced me to go since she's a big horse racing fan. I wasn't expecting much, but I completely enjoyed this movie. You get a behind the scenes look into the horse racing industry and all of the joys, disappointments, hard work, and tragic losses that goes with it.

The makers of this movie were very lucky in the horses they choose to follow. They have crews documenting Barbaro, Achilles of Troy, Sharp Humor, Jazil, Lawyer Ron, and Brother Derek as they make their quest for the Kentucky Derby. Five of the six eventually make it into the 20 horse field. You become very attached to the horses and their trainers as the film takes you from race to race leading up to the Derby.

Six trainers prepare for "The First Saturday in May" in this excellent 2007 documentary currently playing limited engagements in select theaters. The good news is that the producers, the Hennegan brothers, have found a distributor, and the film is due to be released on DVD.

The documentary follows the trainers of six horses who are close to qualifying for the 2005 Kentucky Derby, including trainer Matz and the horse he trains, Barbaro, whose story is well known. The trainers are all lively personalities from different parts of the country (Arkansas, Florida, New York, Kentucky). We get to know these men, their histories, their children and their love of horses. The statistics were interesting - of 40,000 foals born every year, only 20 make it to the Derby. Of these six, not all make it. And one who did meets a cruel fate.

There are laughs and tears to be had in this absorbing film. I'm not a particular fan of horse- racing - for the horses who aren't winners and put out to stud, it can be a horrible life. Racing young horses can cause harm to many an animal and has. Viewers, however, will be struck by the sheer beauty of these animals, their trainers' stories and the drama, pathos and humor of this documentary.

"You have to do it with confidence." Michael Matz, Barbaro trainer

Out of the gate, the documentary First Saturday in May is a winner, whose neophyte directors, brothers Brad and John Hennegan, capture mostly the glamour of the kingly sport before and at Churchill Downs once a year. Although the editing is choppy, the camera angles uninspired, and the lighting weak—no doubt due to the fact that I saw it from projected DVD before prints were cast—it gently carries a romantic aura of the race to qualify and the big race.

This is the famous 2006 race with the incomparable, tragic winner, Barbaro. That the brothers had enough sense to spotlight this undefeated, favored thoroughbred is much in their favor; that the doc must end in the horse's eventual put down from a Preakness Stakes leg injury is a dramatic counterpoint to the upbeat scenario that went before it, a gift so to speak from the Fates to a film that could have been judged sugarcoated without the dark ending.

Prior to the big race the doc traces several stables and their trainers as they prepare to qualify for it or for the race itself. Notably from good ol' slow Kentucky boy Dale Romans looking for his first win to chatty New York assistant trainer Frank Amonte, whose kids take after him in accent and attitude but not in casual expletives from their dad every time he has a setback.

The usual goofballs are present on the day of the derby such as the rube with the spinning horses on top of his beanie and the chubby preadolescent kid who pulls a wad of money from his pocket while mom proudly exclaims, "Horses and poker, that's his thing right now." The doc doesn't need fancy photography to catch the regal nature of this all American event (notwithstanding an owner sheikh from Dubai). It's a winner.

I saw this wonderful film at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and was so happy that it will be seen nationwide. During the "Q & A" after a Tribeca screening a youngish member of the audience asked a question that I thought, by virtue of its content, was the ultimate compliment that could be paid to a documentary. "What that based on a true story?", the young lad wondered. With docs you can never know going in whether there will be a story to tell. Nor can you know whether the characters have enough depth and substance to make the telling of the tale compelling. First Saturday's editing accomplishes both. The Hennegan brothers had me shaking my head as I left the theater wondering how they did it.

absolutely fabulous film. I am an avid horse racing fan, so I was bound and determined to see this movie the day it opened. I was not disappointed! You can really tell the makers love horses and racing, and that love comes through loud and clear. The people, from the horses to the jockeys, trainers and grooms are well developed and captivating. You find yourself rooting for EVERYONE to win, even though you know what's coming. The horses are captured in a way that horse people (and non horse people!) can appreciate- shows their charming personalities and sometimes rogue behavior.

and then there's Barbaro.

I tried to tell myself I wasn't going to cry, but it was impossible. I know the story well, but it still pulls my heart strings to see the story unfold again. I believe this was a perfect tribute to this amazing animal, a horse that touched the hearts of so many people. It makes me happy to know that Barbaro has been immortalized in this wonderful movie.