In the tradition of National
Velvet, the 1944 film starring Mickey
Rooney and a young horse-crazy
girl Elizabeth Taylor, Keegan tells
the story of Dean Hostler, the fender
repair guy who surprisingly wins the
auction at the Longacres horse sale
for a thoroughbred filly orphaned
at birth for his son Ricky's 17th
birthday. When Dean is hours late
for the family dinner party, however,
Lorraine refuses to let him in. The
Nashua trailer that was their home is
repossessed and Dean is stuck sleeping
in a barn with a horse he is unable
to return. Lorraine is beside herself
and worried that Ricky will once
again be held back in school because
of the effect this marital separation
will have on his Attention Deficit
Disorder. Under orders from his wife
not to let Ricky ever see this horse,
however, Dean discovers that his
not yet divorced wife is now seeing
another man. And that is only one
of her secrets, the darkest being the
truth about who is Ricky's real father.
Meantime, Dean finds a stall for Orphan
on the backside of the Longacres
racetrack and Ricky finds his way to
Orphan, where he learns to ride and
is licensed as an apprentice jockey
who can ride Orphan on a real track.