Blue Blood

The young and tenderhearted Eileen Buchanan and her more worldly sister Sue are returning home to their racehorse ranch in Southern California when Tim Donovan, an Irish, down-on-his-luck horse trainer, hitches a ride with them. As they stop to let a herd of horses bound for the slaughterhouse pass, Donovan recognizes Tanglefoot, a five-year-old racehorse he once trained. Believing that the horse has potential even though he is a bad start at the gate, the sentimental Donovan buys Tanglefoot with his last $20 and Eileen chips in $5, buying an interest in the horse herself. At the Buchanan Ranch they are met by the wealthy Buchanan, the girls' devoted father. Buchanan remembers Donovan as an established, albeit older, Derby-winning trainer and Tanglefoot as a once reputable horse with a handicap. While retrieving the trailer used to haul Tanglefoot, the owner of neighboring Stockridge Farms, Bill Manning, joins the group and flirts with his love, Sue. Upon his departure Eileen, believing Bill to be "the best thing in Orange County," badgers Sue to accept Bill's marriage proposal but Sue refuses, claiming her relationship with him is purely platonic. Buchanan, charmed by Eileen's enthusiasm for Donovan, makes a contract with him for $100 a month plus board to train Tanglefoot. The next morning at the track, Bill, despite his reservations about Tanglefoot, tells Eileen that he has bought Tanglefoot's other share. Back at the Buchanan Ranch, trainer Sparks, following a bad season up north, is fired and replaced by Donovan. Later, Donovan and Eileen successfully haggle Bill into selling Dinner Ring, another racehorse, to them. Donovan fancies that Dinner Ring will earn the Buchanan Ranch some immediate returns and enters him in the $15,000 Futurity race at Forest Park. Dinner Ring wins by a length, beating Bill's horse and race favorite Zenobe. During the celebration party Buchanan accepts local ranch owner Teasdale's $25,000 offer for Dinner Ring after Donovan, who loves to speak in truisms, explains to Buchanan that Dinner Ring is only temporarily sound and will soon be ready for pasture. Buchanan gives Donovan a percentage of the purse as payment for his good advice. Donovan continues to train Tanglefoot and, pleased with the horse's times, enters him in a series of races. Tanglefoot is unable to overcome his bad tendencies, however, and loses all the races. Though Bill and Eileen are wary of the losses, Donovan believes Tanglefoot's problems are caused by something more than a "nervous nest" and decides to investigate. The next morning at Stockridge, when Bill invites Eileen and Sue to watch his Derby hopeful Alcazar take a morning run, the horse hits a soft spot and breaks a leg. Although torn by his duty to end the horse's life, Bill borrows a police officer's gun and nevertheless shoots Alcazar. Eileen empathizes with Bill's heartache and, while holding him in a woeful embrace, kisses him, and the two realize the bond they share. Sue is unruffled by the sudden change in the romance and leaves unnoticed. The next day at the Buchanan Ranch, Tanglefoot's jockey experiences trouble on the track when Eileen shows up wearing her red coat, and Donovan deduces that the color spooks Tanglefoot. Now confident that he can concoct a plan to solve the problem, Donovan nominates Tanglefoot to run in the Memorial Handicap and bets $500 on the horse. Donovan then bribes the starter to put Tanglefoot on the outside track and stand several feet back when the starter raises the red flag to start the race. Just around the stable corner Sparks overhears the bribe and coaches his red outfitted jockey to race alongside Tanglefoot to foil Donovan's plan. Despite the outside lane handicap, Tanglefoot leaves the start gate cleanly and only flinches at the red jockey beside him. Tanglefoot wins the race in a photo finish. Later, at the racetrack stable, Sue wins her bet that the right girl would come along for Bill and slips Bill's engagement ring on Eileen's hand. As reward for winning the race, Donovan promises his "gallant little one" Tanglefoot an early retirement so the horse can sire a colt for Eileen and Bill's wedding present.