Movie review: "The First Saturday In May" (2007)

The gist: The race that stops the nation of America is the Kentucky Derby, in which the 20 top-earning three-year-old thoroughbreds compete over 1.25 miles on the dirt (sometimes mud) track at Churchill Downs. This documentary focuses on six trainers trying to get runners into the 2006 event. Once we see which horses qualify through the lead-up Stakes races, it's time to find out how they go in the Derby...

Selling points: Careers, crowds, fame, family, favourites, heartbreak, history, injury, jockeys, jubilation, longshots, money, preparation, rivalry, sheikhs, tactics, tradition. Text boxes pop up throughout the fillum to fill in the who, what, where, when and why, but they aren't intrusive.

It's kinda like: "Spellbound" and "Word Wars", another two emotionally engaging docos that give insider views into famous US contests (the National Spelling Bee and "Scrabble" Championship, respectively). One laconic trainer and his precocious son remind me of Hank and Bobby from "King Of The Hill".

Final word: Younger than the Melbourne Cup, but just as exciting.

[Australian DVD release date: November 6]