Down the Stretch (1927)
Directed by King Baggot
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
This minor racetrack drama was directed by King Baggot, at one time a prominent silent-film leading man. Robert Agnew stars as Marty Kruger, a jockey who is forced to starve himself to qualify weight-wise for the Big Race. This Kruger does at the behest of his nasty trainer Devlin (Lincoln Plummer), who cares only about winning, and hang the consequences. Winning the big race, Marty passes out from malnutrition, and in so doing reveals Devlin to be a no-good rat. As compensation, our hero is comforted by heroine Katie Kelly (Marion Nixon), who has long held a torch for him.
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Keywords
horse-racing, racer, jockey, love, racetrack, sacrifice, sadist, sports, underdog