Timely News

Timely News (Mymamastillstandin's little sister ) will run at Delta Downs in the 3rd race Saturday Oct 31st at about 7:00 CDT.

Al and Melody Helms and Steve and I are listed as the breeders for this filly.

Timely News survived quite a mess when she was a yearling. She thought it would be fun to swim in one of the ditches near Sam Breau's farm.   She had scratches here and there all over and she was soaked in mud from her trek into the world beyond the pasture.  Sam's grooms patched her up and by the time she was ready to break to the saddle she looked like a potential race horse. 

She was 7th in her last race at Evangeline Downs. Who knows she's had 3 months to stay fit and train she might do fine.  

Cheer for Her

Don't really have the $60 for gas and the round trip to Delta is about 200 miles. I don't really have the energy to drive it either. So if it is on TVG we will watch it.  

Movie career

I'm still pretty tired from my 4 day stint as an extra in the movie Secretariat. Most of my time was as a patron in the diner scene. It is up and down in and out.  When we finished they sent us to play fans in the grand stands.  They dressed us in '70's polyester outfits.  The fabric really absorbs the heat. The temperature was only 80 degrees but all of the extras were using their hats and props as fans. 

Monday there is an infield scene with as many extras as they can find so I'm going if my name is on the list.  I know I will really appreciate the check whenever it arrives. 

I'm on Facebook if any of you are on that web site and I will post this on the horseystories.blogspot.com.

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Extra Extra

Disney Movie Extra Secretariat

Mymamastillstandin is entered to run on October 23, 2009 at DELTA DOWNS. He will be #6 in race #2 at about  6:15  

Cheer for a win!!

Today I had the opportunity to be an extra in the Disney film Secretariat. 

The scene is a restaurant setting which is the backside kitchen at the Evangeline Training center. The interior had a nice paint job and the tables were covered with new oil cloth.  A few horse shoes were scattered as decoration on the walls. No dirt on the floor and a few extra benches placed along the back.

We parked in the Evangeline lot and were taken by bus to a large storage barn that had been cleared of all the track equipment that is usually kept there.  The extras were sent to wardrobe to be dressed in 70's outfits which were pretty outrageous. My friend Claire had quite a time finding a dress.  The wardrobe mistress deemed my plaid shirt appropriate but made me wear matronly shoes not sneakers.  Then I told the hair dresser that in the '70's women my current age wore bee hive hair do's so she fixed one for me.  First time I've ever been paid to get my hair done.  Next we were ferried to the Back side kitchen were they seated my friend Clair and I at a table with jockey Rick Faul.  We had several rehearsals and talked and talked and talked to each other while waitresses who were also extras placed cold food on out table and took it away. 

A few hours later we filmed the scene which is the one where Secretariat is declared Horse of the Year and  everyone cheers then Cheneys secretary comes into the restaurant and tells his daughter that he has just been taken to the hospital.  

The director liked the shoot and sent us to find the food tent.  it decided to rain and rain and rain. At about 2:00 they sent us home. Clair said the film crews will keep extras as long as 12 hours and the pay is $105 but at 14 hours the pay is doubled. 

to be continued

Clair said there will be quite a few more opportunities to play extras this winter.  Here I am in my free hairdo.  More pictures on my facebook page

Next story down is a copy of the speech I gave to Toastmasters that tells the story of Secretariat.

Horsey story

Speech #7 for Toastmasters is  Research

Announcement on KLFY website  "Look at this Chris, Disney is  going to make a movie about Secretariat and they need 5000 extras.

  "Let's sign up we will be great extras and we can meet some folks and chat while standing in line. Should be a good adventure"

"How are they going to make a Disney story out of Secretariat?"  Chris searched and found the book by william Nack the great sports writer for the DRW 

The announcement said to bring a photo 4x6. We went through my digital photos and took the disk to Wal Mart for instant prints. 

Sunday we drove to the Cajun Dome and arrived at about 11:45 put on our best British Cue manners and stood in line.

We met our line neighbors and remarked "How are they going to make a story out of Secretariat?  We had read the book.

After all He was born perfect March 30, 1969. 

Well it did take 11 submission to the Jockey club to arrive at his name.  Kind of a story.

He earned an A as a foal

He earned an A as a weanling No injuries, good disposition

He earned an A+ as a yearling.  Made it to 2 yrs old without an injury.

He was easily trained to the saddle since he was very tame and constantly petted

He had no problems learning to be a race horse. Ran an eighth of a mile in 22 seconds A+++

He ran 4th in his first race.  Bumped twice out of the gate, wouldn't let that happen again.

Won several races after that and was 3rd in the Wood Memorial

Eclipse award for the Two Year old season

Won the Kentucky Derby as the favorite in 1:59 then the Preakness and the Belmont.  The Triple Crown.   1973 and the Horse of the Year 1973 and the Eclipse Award.

The line moved forward as we enumerated the rather eventful but not particularly Disney life style for an animal story.

We were in the Cajun Dome (air conditioned) typical Disney World, line very long.

New line and new line neighbors. We discussed Secretariat.  One girl even had a picture of him downloaded onto her I phone.  

We wondered maybe Disney is going to make a heart warming story about Secretariat's connections.

His owner breeder family, The Cheneys of The Meadows in Virginia.

Christopher Cheney grew up poor middle class in rural Virginia, but his family managed a way to send their sons to college.

He was an engineer who wound up on Wall Street and invested in telephone communications through the depression. Became wealthy enough to afford his hobby.

He rebuilt his family farm and turned it into a first class breeding farm

We filled in our applications and let others borrow our pen and then stood in another line. Met some new line neighbors and continued wondering out loud, "How would Disney make a movie out of this story?"

Maybe it was Penny Cheney Tweedy's story.

She saved the farm from the Inheritance tax collector.

She lived a rather ordinary boarding school, Daddy's little girl who loved horses life.

Served overseas in the Red Cross during WWII

Along with Secretariat she willed her father to live until Jan. 3 1973 thus postponing the bulk of the inheritance taxes till April 1974. 

She sold 32 shares of Secretariat's breeding season for $200,000 each.  20 minute story there.

Two very enthusiastic cheerful young women took our applications stapled the pictures onto the form  We let them choose the ones they liked.  Both were very admirable, talking to us like we were important individuals and handing us the printed form with directions for our next appearance as extras in the Disney movie. 

Dismissed we had been there 4 hours. There was 2 hours of line behind us.  Those poor girls taking the applications for extras. We hightailed it out of there.

Secretariat was #35 on the ESPN list of 20th Century 100 greatest athletes

The only animal in the Kentucky Hall of Fame

He died in 1979 because of the hoof disease Laminitis which Barbaro died from and there is a charity sponsoring the search for a cure in Barbaro's name.

The screenplay is by Mike Rich  directed by Randall Wallace and Staring Diane Lane

See you at the movies we hope we don't wind up on the cutting room floor