Mine That Bird derby win headed for the big screen

New Mexico gelding Mine That Bird may be a little distracted at today's Breeder's Cup in Louisville, Ky. Last year's unlikely Kentucky Derby winner is going to be a movie star. The 3-year-old, which was once stabled at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, will appear in a movie, tentatively titled "Mine That Bird," about how he beat big odds, and a muddy Churchill Downs track, to win the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009. It will be filmed next year, mostly in New Mexico, and should be in theaters by 2012, according to producers. They were inspired by what producer Price Hall called Mine that Bird's "everyman's horse" story and a stunning victory that NBC commentator Tom Durkin called "impossible" during last year's broadcast of the race. "We felt it was such an incredible story. We call it 'Rocky on Four Legs,'" Hall said from Churchill Downs in Louisville, home of today's Breeder's Cup race - and the Kentucky Derby. "It's an underdog story," added lead producer Pieter Kroonenberg of Kingsborough Pictures. "It's a story of overcoming 50-to-1 odds, a horse who comes from behind." No stars have been confirmed yet, though the real Mine That Bird is expected to appear in the film. Calvin Borel, the jockey who guided the diminutive thoroughbred's improbable victory, also may appear in it, producers said. Jim Wilson, the Academy Award-winning producer of Kevin Costner's "Dances With Wolves," signed on six weeks ago to direct...more