Kentucky: land of bluegrass, bourbon, and horseracing. Every year the Kentucky Derby draws racing enthusiasts, celebrities, and sometimes royalty, to our fair city to witness the “most exciting two minutes in sports” while clogging up traffic and swilling mint juleps (the track, by the way, apparently uses that nasty pre-mixed crap, which is why so many people say they don’t like them; a proper julep is delicious and not difficult to make). The Derby captures the imagination of the world, and it is to that we owe the success of “biopics” about such legendary horses as Secretariat and Seabiscuit.

We can add another to the list: Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Derby, is getting the big screen treatment in a film made by director and producer Jim Wilson. Mine That Bird is known for having pulled off a tremendous upset; he was ranked at 50-1 odds, which no one in their right mind would bet any serious money on, but nevertheless pulled ahead to win the race (so, spoiler alert, I guess). Everyone loves an underdog story, and you don’t get more so than those odds.

Jim Wilson is the Oscar-winning producer of Dances With Wolves, as well as several other Kevin Costner vehicles such as The Bodyguard, The Postman, Mr. Brooks, and Swing Vote. While he mostly produces, this will be his fifth directorial effort.

The plot of Wild Ride, according to IMDB, is thus:

A misfit group of New Mexico cowboys find themselves on the journey of a lifetime when they learn their crooked-footed racehorse qualifies to run in the Kentucky Derby. Based on the true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys must overcome impossible odds even before they reach Churchill Downs and the land of Kentucky's blue bloods.

Production begins in New Mexico next month. The film will star Jamie McShane, Madelyn Deutch, and Kristen Rakes.

Image: Wikipedia