The First Saturday in May ***

Directed by John and Brad Hennegan. With Barbaro, Chuck Chambers, Bob and Bonnie Holthus. 1 hour, 37 mins. No MPAA rating. Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Horse-racing fans will already know the outcome of The First Saturday in May, which shadows a pack of 3-year-old thoroughbreds as they make their way through the traditional obstacle course of stakes races and bad luck en route to the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

But while this documentary by the filmmaking Hennegan brothers has a great story - seven of them, in fact - this is also primer for the uninitiated, the curious, and anyone who thinks racetracks are the most beautiful places on Earth.

The horse trainers/movie characters range from Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains for the royal family of Dubai; to 73-year-old race vet Bob Holthus, to Dan Hendricks, who's paralyzed from a riding accident. People rise and fall - horses, too.

This year will mark the 30th since there's been a Triple Crown winner, something that always improves racing's mainstream popularity. Short of that, First Saturday might prove a boost for the entire sport.

- John Anderson, Newsday