Thank you America!! The film will be playing through Thursday, May 1st in the following cities:

Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Cleveland, Denver, Lexington, Los Angeles, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia and San Diego.

Opens Thursday, April 24th in Saratoga Springs, NY

Opens Friday, April 25th in Atlanta, Durango (CO), Milwaukee, Muskegon (MI), Paducah (KY), Seattle and Santa Ana (CA).

For the latest information, check here.

Posted on Apr 23 2008    
Filed Under: News

John and Brad will be on Ferrall’s show on Sirius radio on Wednesday night.

Tune in at 9:30 EST!

Posted on Apr 23 2008    
Filed Under: News

Blacktype Blog:

I thought the Hennegan brothers did exactly what they set out to do; make a movie about the people behind the horses. I loved their coverage of Lawyer Ron’s 61 year old groom. You don’t rub horses into your 60’s for the money, you do it because you love the animals. In fact, that was a running theme among all the players in the movie, which I thought was brought out very well.

Posted on Apr 22 2008    
Filed Under: News

The New York Times launched it’s Triple Crown blog The Rail, which included a guest post from John & Brad.

The New York Times’s Triple Crown blog. Wow. This is huge for us. Before we made our film, we couldn’t get a job blogging for the Secaucus High School Sentinel.

Read it here.

Posted on Apr 22 2008    
Filed Under: News

Jeff Nahill of the North Country Times reviews the film.

Whether they be a groom, a hot walker, a trainer, a jockey, a valet, a racing official or an owner, there are thousands of stories at the race track. That’s what makes the sport so interesting, and that’s what directors John and Brad Hennegan have captured in the documentary “The First Saturday of May.”

Read it here.

Posted on Apr 21 2008    
Filed Under: News

Mary Lingwall of the Daily Texan reviews the film.

The offbeat, candid, endearing stories of these six teams of hopefuls will capture your heart (the late Barbaro is one of the six horses chronicled in the film), stir your imagination, and make you laugh till you cry. “The First Saturday in May” is one of the season’s must-sees.

Read it here.

Posted on Apr 20 2008    
Filed Under: News

Chill, Don’t Pay the Bills

I know you might be saying “A Horse Racing Documentary, Henry? Are you high?” I’m kind of tipsy, but that’s not even connected. I wasn’t sure of what I was going to see going in as I knew nothing, really. I once rode a horse when I was at Bard, during Spring Fling, shouts to the Bard Equestrian Club. But this novice came out a fan of the sport. Now that I can follow UFC (and a lot of others are as well), I think it’s safe to agree with the film’s director that this is the best sport you’re not watching.

Team Sugar

I just had a fabulous evening watching a movie about the journey to the Kentucky Derby.

Ernie Munick

My mind organizes its fondest memories in clickable thumbnail…

To return to the First Saturday in May, I need only to click on the image of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and Jazil, the future Belmont Stakes winner, sitting in the stall’s hay, both of them, with Jazil’s smallish dark head in Kiaran’s hands, eyes closed, blissed out from the petting of his devoted conditioner. Kiaran, stroking, stroking, says that people can’t imagine the human-racehorse bond approximating that of parenting a dog or a cat, a pet, but there it is, in the Hennegan’s film; all that’s missing is a couch and a TV and a few framed family photos in the backdrop and maybe Kiaran baby-talking, What a good boy…such a good boy…who’s daddy’s best boy?

The Bug Boys

What touched me most were the scenes with the kids. I was getting choked up watching Alex Solis’ son cheering “Go Dad!” while the rest of the world was cheering for his mount, Brother Derek. I felt like a voyeur into an extremely personal relationship between father and son.

Posted on Apr 20 2008    
Filed Under: News

Characterizing the film as “passionate” and “charming”, HollywoodChicago.com interviews John & Brad.

It’s accessible enough to charm even non-fans while being comprehensive enough for rabid followers of the sport.

Read the interview here.

Posted on Apr 19 2008    
Filed Under: News

David L. Coddon gives the film 4 stars!

One need not be a horse-racing aficionado to love “The First Saturday in May,” a warm and stirring documentary from directors Brad and John Hennegan.

Read it here.

Posted on Apr 18 2008    
Filed Under: News

Mark Starr of Newsweek calls the film a delight!

But even the death of Barbaro–after an eight-month struggle that captivated the nation and broke its collective heart–can’t obscure the beauty and joy surrounding these magnificent animals, the folks who love them and their Derby quests.

Read it here.

Posted on Apr 18 2008    
Filed Under: News