Work Horse

The heart wrenching, yet uplifting story of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro (pictured), is set to hit the big screen.

Michael Fleming of Variety:

Universal Pictures has acquired screen rights to "Gone Like the Wind," a Buzz Bissinger-penned article in the August issue of Vanity Fair about 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.

Peter Berg will direct the film and produce through his Film 44 shingle with Sarah Aubrey.

Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby so convincingly that many felt he could win horse racing's Triple Crown. Tragedy struck in the Preakness, when the horse bolted out of the gate and almost immediately shattered one of its rear forelegs.

The article focuses on the attempt by owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson, trainer Michael Matz and veterinary surgeon Dean Richardson to come up with a humane way to stabilize the injury and keep the horse alive. The country rallied around the horse, but it was euthanized nearly eight months after being injured.

Berg is Bissinger's cousin and previously co-wrote and directed a 2004 Universal film based on the sportswriter's famed high school gridiron saga "Friday Night Lights," which was later adapted into the NBC series...

Click here for more on the horse's tragic end....

I really responded to the work that Peter Berg put forth for FNL the movie and the TV series is even better. Therefore, hopes are high for the Barbaro film. Living in the horse's backyard also means the flick will hold a certain amount of familiarity of the events that I might not otherwise have had.

How I had no idea that Berg and Bissinger are related after all of this time is amazing...