Let It Ride

Director: Joe Pytka (1989)

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, Teri Garr, Jennifer Tilly, Michelle Phillips

“I’m having a very good day.” That is the line that has been repeated at race tracks around the world for decades since this cult-ish racetrack film came out in 1989. 

Dreyfuss plays Jay Trotter, a down on his luck cab driver, who gets a tip on a sure winning horse bets all of his money on it and the horse wins big! Now he’s a big shot to the group of quirky friends he always hangs out with at the racetrack, but his success went to his head and started making his bets in a private club where the snooty, privileged guests stayed. Was Jay going to abandon his real friends and how long can this winning streak last?

In the end it’s a win, win for Jay. He wins every race he bet on, and he gets his back to celebrate with him.

Unfortunately, the film didn’t find an audience in the summer of 1989, but it has risen in stature over the years with critics and fans and is regarded as one of the better horse racing films made.

Fun Facts:

The credits the fictitious name Ernest Morton is listed as the screenwriter of the film. As she had done a few years earlier with the movie “Slap Shot,” Nancy Dowd wrote the screenplay under an assumed name.

Rock singer Michelle Phillips (Mamas & Papas) makes an impressive appearance in this film. She would go on to make several more during the 1990’s.