{"id":103306,"date":"2021-04-28T23:19:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T04:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=103306"},"modified":"2021-04-28T23:29:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T04:29:45","slug":"black-horseracing-film-poised-to-finish-first-producers-unveil-plans-for-photo-finish-the-race-of-the-century-entertainment-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=103306","title":{"rendered":"Black Horseracing Film Poised to Finish First Producers Unveil Plans for &#8220;PHOTO FINISH: The Race of the Century&#8221; &#8211; Entertainment News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- RSR AD 1 --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"7759247395\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=103306\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=103306\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-103307 size-full\" style=\"margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pressrelease_360617_1619123290.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"141\" \/><\/a>Finishing first is a time-honored horseracing tradition. Leon Nichols, Calvin Davis and affiliates of the Project to Preserve African-American Turf History intend to do just that by securing additional backing for \u201cPHOTO FINISH: The Race of the Century.\u201d PPAATH\u2019s work has been profiled extensively by \u201cL.A. Times,\u201d \u201cWashington Post,\u201d NBC Sports and others.<\/p>\n<p>The nonprofit\u2019s founder and co-founder, Nichols and Davis, are working on their script alongside producer James Walton &#8211; their film poised to be the first in U.S. filmmaking history led by a Black production team and the first to capture the contributions made (and conflicts faced) by Black jockeys beginning in the late 19th Century. As their story traces the life of Isaac Burns Murphy, a legendary jockey and the first ever inductee into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, it illuminates and bridges persistent racial divides.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>African American jockeys held places of prominence across the Kentucky Derby\u2019s first 27 years, said Chris Goodlett, Dir. of Curitorial &amp; Educational Affairs at the Kentucky Derby Museum. By the 20th Century, he noted on video, institutional racism and segregation took hold: \u201cThe very first Kentucky Derby, 1875, 13 of the 15 jockeys were African American. (Blacks) went on to win 15 of the first 28 runnings.\u201d Their accomplishments are celebrated like never before in the museum\u2019s 2021 \u201cBlack Heritage in Racing\u201d exhibit.<\/p>\n<p>In June 1890, amid intense racial and political unrest, Murphy was the central figure in a frenzied and electrifying \u201cblack vs. white\u201d race held at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, N.Y. Aiming for the big prize, Murphy led Hall of Fame thoroughbred Salvator down the track on a quest to trample injustice while taking home $10,000. With \u201cwhite\u201d and \u201ccolored\u201d signs popping up in response to Jim Crow laws, all eyes were on Murphy and his rival, Ed \u201cSnapper\u201d Garrison. One sealed America\u2019s fate for generations to come in a photo-finish race that was dubbed \u201cthe greatest in the history of thoroughbred racing\u201d by the then-priced-at-just-pennies \u201cN.Y. Times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The PPAATH team\u2019s top pick to play Murphy, a jockey-turned-horse-owner-and-trainer with matinee idol looks, is Pharrell Williams. As for Murphy\u2019s rival, Garrison? Benedict Cumberbatch. By Murphy\u2019s own calculations, he won 628 of his 1,412 starts. That 44% win rate remains unequaled. Murphy continues to be revered for his horseracing expertise and uncompromising integrity. He was inducted into the NMR Hall of Fame in 1955. Yet, what led the PPAATH team to want to create a feature-length film about him?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 1938 screenplay \u2018Kentucky\u2019 was made into a technicolor film starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene and Walter Brennan,\u201d said Walton. \u201cThat Romeo-and-Juliet story, as directed by David Butler, was set against a backdrop of Kentucky horseracing culture and a family feud that dated back to the Civil War.\u201d On a budget of $700,000, it became a 20th Century Fox box-office smash. Nichols added that existing films all celebrate White jockeys: \u201cBlack jockeys, trainers and owners led the way in introducing Americans to horseracing. Sadly, those men were literally chased out of the profession once its popularity and economics began to soar.\u201d Comparables include:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeabiscuit\u201d (2003) \u2013 Box office gross: $143.8 Million USD<br \/>\n\u201cRacing Stripes\u201d (2005) \u2013 Box office gross: $90 Million USD<br \/>\n\u201cSecretariat\u201d (2010) \u2013 Box office gross: $60.3 Million USD<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to unpack here,\u201d said Walton. \u201cIn 1890, Jim Crow legislation struck a severe blow to horseracing and forced out the clear majority: Black jockeys. One after another, their obituaries then piled up. High-profile Blacks\u2019 ability to do what they loved was snatched away as mobs of emboldened Whites pushed for segregated tracks. Soup Perkins, who\u2019d won the Kentucky Derby at age 15, drank himself to death by age 31. Tommy Britton committed suicide by swallowing acid. Albert Isom publicly shot himself in the head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe discrimination they faced in everyday life they also faced on the racetrack &#8211; confronted with an ideology that tore apart our nation and an entire industry,\u201d said Nichols. \u201c\u2018PHOTO FINISH: The Race of the Century\u2019 celebrates one man\u2019s ability to beat the odds. Before Jordon, Ali and Owens, there was Isaac Burns Murphy. He was a hero in the eyes of Blacks and unsympathetic Whites knew that. He achieved millionaire status and acclaim at a time when others feared for their safety. Yet, here we are today, in 2021&#8230;still fearful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PPAATH is seeking backers and tax incentives in various U.S. filmmaking hub zones so it can develop a series of films which showcase Black jockeys and pay homage to courageous acts which have gone unrecognized for more than a century. Get involved at PPAATH.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Finishing first is a time-honored horseracing tradition. Leon Nichols, Calvin Davis and affiliates of the Project to Preserve African-American Turf History intend to do just that by securing additional backing for \u201cPHOTO FINISH: The Race of the Century.\u201d PPAATH\u2019s work has been profiled extensively by \u201cL.A. Times,\u201d \u201cWashington Post,\u201d NBC Sports and others. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17984],"tags":[26417,26416],"class_list":["post-103306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment-news","tag-black-horseracing-film-poised-to-finish-first-producers-unveil-plans-for-photo-finish-the-race-of-the-century-entertainment-news","tag-the-richard-lawson-studios-master-class-series-closes-out-april-with-casting-director-rich-delia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103306"}],"version-history":[{"count":-1,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}