The new Netflix series is due for release later this month.
“You gotta be wired a little bit differently to hop on a thousand-pound animal and run at 40 miles an hour with an ambulance chasing you.”
These words kick off the trailer for a Netflix documentary series, Race for the Crown, which takes an in-depth look at American horse racing.
Produced by the team behind the smash hit Formula 1: Drive to Survive, as well as other popular sports shows Six Nations: Full Contact, Tour de France: Unchained and Full Swing, Race for the Crown is due for release on Netflix on April 22.
It’s not yet clear if it will be available in the streaming service’s southern African region but the promo material talks of “an international audience” and, given the good local viewership numbers of the other sports productions, algorithms should bring it our way.
A sneak peak
The central theme is the American Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes – but, along the way, the often inscrutable world of racing is thoroughly investigated.
Another quote from the trailer: “A good horse will take you all over the world. The hard part’s finding a top horse.”
That should resonate with eager buyers at this week’s National Yearling Sale in Germiston.
Owners featured include two of the younger and more flamboyant characters of the American tracks, Michael Iavarone and Michael Repole.
The latter, an entrepreneur who started Vitaminwater, routinely spends more than $20-million a year on horses.
Repole’s soundbite: “There’s unbelievable money in this game. I just forced my way in … and I’m not leaving!”
Jockeys interviewed
Famous jockeys interviewed include Irad Ortiz, John Velazquez, Javier Castellano, Katie Davis and Luis Saez, who has recently partnered some of the posse of South African horses currently racing in the States.
And then there’s Frankie Dettori, who retired a couple of years ago only to reappear back in the saddle across the Atlantic.
“I wasn’t ready to retire. I’d rather die on a horse than die of boredom,” declares the irrepressible jock.
All six episodes of Race for the Crown are due to launch at the same time – ahead of the Kentucky Derby in early May.
