Preakness 2012 Results: I'll Have Another's Backstory Is Made for the Movies

Let me pitch a script to you.

My movie opens at the Kentucky Derby, the opening scene flashing images of ladies in giant hats on the arms of gentlemen in debonair suits as they sip on mint juleps and giggle or look jealously about at the other ladies in the grandstands.

The camera then flashes to the infield, a giant party where the crowd is younger, the alcohol is more prevalent and the excitement is palpable. A dull roar is heard every time a group of horses gallop past, though the infield rages on whether there is a race to be had or not.

And finally, the scene shifts one final time to the men and women racing to place their bets, money changing hands, the hectic hustle and bustle of people placing their money on horses before they change their minds again.

We zoom in to one sheet in particular, and the camera pans down the sheet, with horses like Bodemeister and Union Rags flashing the best odds.

And then it focuses on one name and pauses there: I'll Have Another, 15-1.

Thus begins our movie.

We then go back in time to California, where I'll Have Another's Doug O’Neill is being accused of giving his horses milkshakes—a performance-enhancing mixture of baking soda, sugar and electrolytes—but decides to fight this particular accusation.

He'll note something along the lines of "I've accepted a punishment three other times because it wasn't worth fighting, but enough is enough," or something like that, some way to let the audience know he's been accused of milkshaking four times.

But the movie will portray him for what he is—an affable, likeable fellow that yes, might have a seedy past with milkshaking but also will answer any question and doesn't mind hamming it up for the cameras.

He'll be one person this film focuses on. The other will be the young jockey who will ride his horse, Mario Gutierrez, whom we'll first meet at Santa Anita, where O'Neill and I'll Have Another's owner, J. Paul Reddam, are having lunch and trying to decide who will ride their horse at the same time Gutierrez is set to race.

This leads to the following exchange (via Bob Velin of USA TODAY):

"

Gutierrez won his race, and Reddam turned to O'Neill and said, "Who is that kid?"

"I know of him, but I couldn't pick him out of a lineup," O'Neill told Reddam. "He won 27% of his races at Hastings (in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Gutierrez worked for about six years before trying his luck in California)."

Said Reddam: "Why don't you have him come over (to Hollywood Park) and work I'll Have Another, and if they get along good, give a kid like that a chance?"

"

The rest, as they say, is history.

Of course, we'll have to get to know Mr. Gutierrez in the film, from his humble beginnings in Veracruz, Mexico, to his eventual move to Canada. We'll learn how he was an accomplished jockey but one who was never given a chance for the big time until he met I'll Have Another.

Thus setting the stage for the rookie rider from Mexico to race at the Kentucky Derby on Cinco de Mayo. What a perfect scene.

And we'll get to see his absolutely perfect run there, along with his equally impressive run at the Preakness Stakes, all setting up toward the end of the movie: three weeks of hype heading up to the Belmont Stakes.

Of course, this movie will only get made if it has the right ending—a win at Belmont and the first Triple Crown since 1978. But if I'll Have Another does pull of the feat, there are enough interesting characters and compelling stories surrounding him to fill a Hollywood film.

A horse few believed in. A controversial but likeable trainer. A chance pairing with a rookie jockey who didn't crumble on the biggest stage.

And maybe, just maybe, a Triple Crown. That's a film I want to see.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets will gladly have another as well.