''50 to 1'' is a 2014 American drama film based on the true story of

Mine That Bird Mine That Bird (foaled May 10, 2006) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducte ...

, an undersized

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who won the

2009 Kentucky Derby The 2009 Kentucky Derby was the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. The value of the race was $2,177,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by Yum! Brands and hence officially was called ''Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.'' The race took ...

in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the race. The film received a limited release on March 21, 2014. It was directed by Jim Wilson, who also co-wrote the script with Faith Conroy, and stars

Skeet Ulrich Skeet Ulrich (; born Bryan Ray Trout on January 20, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in popular 1990s films, including Billy Loomis in '' Scream'' (1996), Chris Hooker in '' The Craft'' (1996) and Vincent Lopiano in '' ...

Christian Kane Christian Kane (born Christopher Michael Short) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is known for his roles in the television shows ''Angel'', '' Leverage'', '' The Librarians'', and '' Into the West'', and the movies '' Just Married'', ...

and

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

.Bill Edelstein
"Film Review: ‘50 to 1’: This fact-based buddy movie about 2009 Kentucky Derby longshot keeps the cliches coming."
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', May 13, 2014. Jockey

Calvin Borel Calvin H. Borel (born November 7, 1966) is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby win with Mine That Bird was ...

, who rode Mine that Bird to his upset Derby win, plays himself in the film.

Plot

A misfit group of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

cowboys find themselves on the journey of a lifetime when their undersized thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

qualifies for the Kentucky Derby. Based on the inspiring true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys face a series of mishaps on their way to Churchill Downs, becoming the ultimate underdogs in a final showdown with the world's racing elite. Mine That Bird pulls off a monumental upset (at 50-to-1 odds) by winning the 2009

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

Cast

as Chip Woolley *

as Mark Allen *

as Leonard "Doc" Blach *

Madelyn Deutch Madelyn Deutch (born March 23, 1991) is an American actress, musician and writer. She is known for writing, acting in a lead role, and composing the musical score for the feature film ''The Year of Spectacular Men''. Early life Deutch was born i ...

as Alex *

Todd Lowe Todd Lowe (born May 10, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Terry Bellefleur, a PTSD-suffering Iraq War veteran who works as a short order cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill on HBO's ''True Blood'' and as Zack Van Gerbig o ...

as Kelly *

as Himself

Reception

Gary Goldstein of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' thought the film was slow-moving and the characters lacked interest, and the film "an idea better in theory than in practice". Michael O'Sullivan of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' said that as with real-life horse racing, "the exciting part lasts only a minute or two, and then it’s over. The rest of the movie is filler (or maybe foreplay)." Bill Edelstein of ''

'' commented that the film's attempt to appeal to a faith-based audience seemed "a rather calculated play near the finish". On the other hand, he thought Calvin Borel turned out to be "adept at slapstick" and found Borel's character to be "more compelling than the leads". Lawrence Toppman of ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' gave the film a positive review, finding the film's "old-fashioned" qualities appealing.Lawrence Toppman
"Horsey tale ‘50 to 1’ takes us back to a gentler movie time"
, ''

'', June 26, 2014.

References

External links

* *{{rotten-tomatoes, id=50_to_1, title=50 to 1 2014 films 2010s sports drama films American horse racing films Films set in 2009 American sports drama films 2014 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language sports drama films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links