By a nose: the top five horse films

There are plenty of horse racing or just movies about horses to pick from so it is difficult to narrow them down to a top five.
Several that I would have added included: Dreamer (2005), War Horse (2011), and Shergar (1999).

5. Black Beauty (1971 and 1994)
Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell.
It is one of the best-selling books of all time and if you haven’t read it, find it and read it.
Black Beauty tells his own story and his wise observations and unvarnished candor reveal much about both human nature and animal suffering.

4. National Velvet (1944)
This old time favorite horse movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney, is an absolute vintage classic.
Taylor plays a young girl who believes her troublesome horse has enough talent to win the Grand National Steeplechase, and goes against convention when she rides him in the race herself.

3. The Black Stallion (1979)
This movie is based on the 1941 novel where a young boy is shipwrecked with a wild stallion and a strong bond is forged.
The Black Stallion, is the title character from author Walter Farley’s bestselling series about the stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay.
The series chronicles the story of an Arab sheikh’s prized stallion after it comes into Alec’s possession, although later books furnish the Black’s back story.
The 1979 film stars Mickey Rooney and earned him an Oscar nomination for his role as the trainer.

2. Secretariat (2010)
Secretariat tells the story of the greatest race horse of my time.
In 1973, Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years. He set race records in all three events in the series – the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), the Preakness Stakes (1:53), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24).
He ranked second behind Man o’ War as the greatest horse of all time.
This Disney movie was based on the Novel “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion” by William Nack.
Secretariat chronicles the spectacular journey of the Triple Crown winner.
Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge.
Against all odds, Chenery- with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)-ultimately fostered the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years ad the only once since 1973.

1. Seabiscuit (2203)
The movie is based on the true story of Seabiscuit, a small horse who had an inauspicious start to his racing career, but became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression.
Seabiscuit also was the subject of a 1949 film, The Story of Seabiscuit and this movie was based on the book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. He defeated the odds and raised the hopes of a country in despair.

UP NEXT: The top five best sports characters