In The First Saturday in May we follow six leading and diverse trainers as they struggle through months of grueling preparation to advance stake race after stake race to qualify for the 2006 Kentucky Derby. The film reaches past the glamour of the horses, jockeys and the bourbon; it gives us a glimpse of the owners, the trainers, and even their families as they share the sweet victories, disappointing setbacks, and even gut-wrenching tragedies.

It’s the colorful personalities of the people who train the horses that shine through. From Dan Hendricks, whose life did not skip a beat when he became paralyzed, to Kiaran McLaughlin, who refuses to let a recent diagnosis of MS get in the way of training he does for the Royal Family of Dubai.