Moore cast in movie "Seabiscuit"

By MELODIE PHELPS

News Editor

University of Kentucky senior Bethany Moore got to spend a week in an unusual place—the

 1930’s. Moore was cast in two scenes of the movie "Seabiscuit," that were shot at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington last month.

It was an experience of a lifetime for Moore, who was on the Lexington set for six days. Through wardrobe, makeup and hairstyling, she was transformed back six decades to the time when a horse became an unlikely hero.

"I’m glad I did it," said Moore, as she talked about the once-in-a-lifetime experience. "I have a different perspective on movies."

The filming of scenes in Lexington stirred quite a bit of excitement throughout the Bluegrass. Casting calls attracted thousands of Kentuckians who were interested in being extras in the film. Moore was one of those.

"I just thought it would be fun to do," she said.

About two thousand people showed up for the weekend casting call, and 700 were selected. Moore noted that women who were selected were informed their hair had to be cut to just below the chin. Anyone with short or layered hair that couldn’t be styled to that period was not selected.

Moore got the call about a month later, informing her that she had been selected. She was one of very few women selected as paid extras for the Lexington scenes. Moore was cast as a member of the family of Seabiscuit’s owner, Charles Howard, played by actor Jeff Bridges.

"Women didn’t go to the race track in those days," Moore noted.

If they did, they were seated in one of the owner’s boxes, as she is in one of the movie’s scenes. Moore was seated near Bridges in that scene, and in her other on-camera appearance she is with the family and Seabiscuit in the winners circle.

"All the women who were there were associated with either Seabiscuit or Admiral," noted Moore.

She also got to see Toby McGuire, the star of Spiderman, who plays jockey Red Pollard, who rode Seabiscuit to fame. The other starring role in the film is played by Chris Cooper, who is Seabiscuit’s trainer Tom Smith.

Moore’s first taste of movie making came about three weeks before filming began, when she attended a wardrobe session. She was taken to a huge warehouse filled with clothing. She was delighted with the results.

Moore was fitted in a suit, with a glamorous fur coat over it. She had gloves, a hat, a purse and shoes to complete the ensemble. She noted that all the clothing for the movie was authentic to the 1930’s and had been gathered from around the world.

Filming in Lexington lasted about two weeks. Moore was on the set for the first time on Monday, November 11 at 4:15 a.m. She noted that it took a long time to get makeup and hair done for filming. They were on the set until about sundown each day. And in between was a lot of waiting.

"There was a lot of waiting, especially when they filmed the horses," explained Moore. "They had about eight different horses."

There were four horses for the role of Seabiscuit and four for Admiral.

In addition, Moore said that there were two mechanical horses that were used for scenes. Jockeys would ride the mechanical horses around the track, and scenes were shot repeatedly for timing.

Keeneland was transformed to Pimlico in the 1930’s. Moore noted the Lexington course was selected for the movie because it is one of the more authentic race tracks in this country. Everything that spelled out Keeneland was changed to Pimlico, including the the lettering on the seats in the grandstand.

"They didn’t film very much inside Keeneland. Most of the filming was outside," said Moore.

Pimlico was the site of the "Match of the Century" between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. The actual race was played over the intercom system, when the grandstand scene was filmed on Sunday, November 17. An open call had been made for extras in that scene and about 4,500 people showed up for the day.

Playing the actual race allowed filmmakers to get reactions from the crowd that would coincide with the previously shot race scenes.

"When we were doing some of the scenes, they told us to remember that this was the biggest sporting event that year," said Moore. "Forty thousand people were there to watch it."

She is unsure if her scenes will actually be part of the film, when it is released next summer. Moore noted that the two weeks of work in Lexington will account for only five or ten minutes of the movie.

© The Wayne County Outlook

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