Sports fans don’t need Hollywood to show them what makes their favorite games special. Still, there is a unique thrill to watching a sport you love get dressed up with a touch of cinematic drama and get sent out into the world repackaged not just as a game but as part of the hero’s journey.
Horse racing isn’t covered as often as say, basketball, but it has had its moments on the silver
screen. What are the ten best horse racing scenes in movies? Keep reading to find out and If
you are unsure how to bet on horses in 2025, head on over to TwinSpires for a robust look at
everything you need to know.
Hidalgo
Hidalgo is at once a classic and an entirely unique entrant to this list. On the one hand, it would be crazy to have a list of horse racing movies that didn’t include Hidalgo. On the other hand, this isn’t the “mint julep and high fashion,” sort of race that Derby fans might be used to. Hidalgo takes place in the 1800s and depicts a massive cross-desert race set in the heart of Saudi Arabia.
The Cup
A much more recognizable race. The Cup follows the life of one jockey as he tries to win the
Melbourne Cup following the tragic death of his brother in a horse racing accident. The film is
actually biographical, telling the sad but ultimately triumphant story of how Damien Oliver one the 2002 Melbourne Cup.
Champions
Similarly recognizable and also about a jockey battling both intense competition and personal
hardship, Champions takes us a bit further back in time, to 1980. There, we meet Bob Champion, a jockey who battled testicular cancer while campaigning to win the 1981 Grand
National.
Ride Like a Girl
If you know racing, you’ve probably heard of Michelle Payne. In 2015, she became the first
female jockey to ever win the Melbourne Cup. Ride Like a Girl brings her story to life on the
silver screen.
National Velvet
A silly but nostalgic film from the 1940s. National Velvet tells the story of Velvet Brown, a horse-loving twelve-year-old with great ambitions. Her dream? To win the Grand National with a willful horse that she has come to possess. Can she do it? You’ll have to watch the movie and find out for yourself.
Dreamer
Dreamer gives us a close and intimate look into the world of people who care for horses every day. We watch this story play out first-hand on a ranch where an injured championship horse has gone to recuperate. It’s about racing but packaged in a very intimate way. The focus here is as much on the father/daughter dynamic of the people caring for the horse as it is on racing itself.
50 to 1
If you came out on the right end of the enormous Kentucky Derby upset from 2009, you’ll watch this movie with a smile on your face. It tells the story of Mine That Bird, the famous 50 to 1 horse that shocked audiences back in 2009.
Let it Ride
Let it Ride is a horse racing film from the 80s that focuses on this sports gambling culture. It’s a comedy that tells the story of an ordinarily hapless man who shows up at the track one day and suddenly wins every bet he places. Let it Ride lacks the high drama you will find in the other films on this list but it is a good, lighthearted comedy for days when you just need a laugh.
Secretariat
Unquestionably one of the most popular sports movies of all time. This genre-transcending
classic tells the story of Penny Chennrey, a homemaker who is forced to take over her family’s thoroughbred farm when her father becomes sick. Can she triumph in the male-dominated world of horse racing? You’ll have to give it a watch and find out for yourself.
Seabiscuit
Another canonical horse racing film. Seabiscuit is set in the Depression Era and tells the true
story of a horse, and the people who trained it. Seabiscuit begins as a willful and difficult horse, but slowly transitions into a true champion, during a difficult time in American history where people needed an underdog they could root for, and found one in a very unexpected place.
Off to The Races
Did this article get your motor running for some real horse racing? You are in luck. At this point in the year, there are still TONS of excellent racing ahead of us. Perhaps most notably, the Kentucky Derby will excite and delight racing fans with the two most exciting minutes in sports this May.
While horse racing is fun on its own, staking major races can add a new layer of excitement to
the experience. Not only does betting on races make the actual race more thrilling, but it gives you the motivation to sit down and do your research ahead of time, further enhancing your experience in the process.