Steve Mullington (@mulldog) picks his five favourite horse racing movies and documentaries - do you agree with his selection of racing flicks?
SEABISCUIT
Regarded by many as the greatest horse racing movie of all-time, Seabiscuit is a must watch for any horse racing fan.
Foaled in 1933, Seabiscuit earned almost half a million dollars for his owner, Charles S. Howard, between 1935 and 1940.
His remarkable story coincided with the beginning of racing radio broadcasts in the US and a population desperate for any means of escape from the effects of the Great Depression.
In short the movie becomes a tale about beating the odds, the triumph of competition, and how one small animal can bring a nation together to forget its miseries.
CHAMPIONS
Champions is an emotional true story charting the 1981 Grand National victory of Bob Champion and his mount Aldaniti who both fought back from the brink of death and defied the horse racing odds, to line up in the world's most famous horse race.
The film was based on the best-selling novel "Champions Story" written by Bob Champion and Jonathan Powell. Bob himself was an advisor on the set and his role was played by one of the finest actors in John Hurt.
Today bob Champion still lives in Newmarket and still remains involved in the racing world. The cancer charity set up in his name in 1983 has raised upwards of £15 million.
NATIONAL VELVET
The tagline for National Velvet reads as follows: "A jaded former jockey helps a young girl prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes."
That young girl was played by none other than Elizabeth Taylor in her first major film role. The film also stars the famous names of Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury.
Who would have envisaged when the commentator says: "A girl ladies and gentleman, a slip of a girl clutching the neck of a bandy legged outsider streaked across the line to win the greatest race in turfdom, a girl wins the Grand National!", that decades later a girl named Rachael Blackmore would actually win the race for real.
DREAM HORSE
Dream Horse is the true story of how a group of friends from a small Welsh mining town raise a racehorse called Dream Alliance to win the Welsh Grand National.
Dream Alliance was bred by small-town Welsh barmaid called Jan Vokes. With no experience, Jan convinces the club regulars to chip in to help pay for the horse’s upkeep in the hope he can compete with the racing elites.
BEING AP
This is possibly one of my favourite racing documentaries EVER (he jokes) as I actually happen to have a cameo role in it.
Blink and you’ll miss me in the audience for an intimate Q&A session filmed at Liverpool University for BBC 5Live. The recording was actually featured in the film.
AP McCoy (Tony) is regarded as the greatest jump jockey who's ever sat in a saddle, and this fascinating documentary follows his last year on the track.
Fearless and willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his goals, this film reveals the exhaustive training routine, injuries, doubt, triumphs and failures that McCoy went through right up until his retirement in 2015.
Prefer the Flat to the Jumps? Then check out all our Royal Ascot betting for 2024 here.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
