Next month, filming is set to begin on a Disney movie – - Secretariat – - which will be big news around here.

And not just because it could bring the lovely and talented actress Diane Lane to town.

The movie, which will feature Lane as Secretariat owner Penny Chenery, will be filmed in Louisiana and Kentucky. And it may be the first fruits of Gov. Steve Beshear’s just-passed legislation providing tax credits and incentives to movie producers.

Leonard Lusky, who operates the website Secretariat.com, is involved in many aspects of the movie and said the state tax credits were the key factor in the Disney decision to work in Kentucky. He said producers will be scouting locations in the next week, with Churchill Downs and Keeneland at the top of the list. And he said it should be a great film.

“This is the fourth studio to pitch a movie to Mrs. Chenery, and the first time she’s agreed to do it,” Lusky said.

No cast members are in yet, except for Lane, but Disney is pulling out some major talent to produce the film. The screenwriter, Mike Rich, has Finding Forrester and The Rookie on his resume. Randall Wallace, director of Braveheart and Pearl Harbor, is on board.

Darrell Haire, West Coast regional manager for the Jockeys Guild, is helping producers cast an actual jockey to portray the legendary Ron Turcotte, Secretariat’s jockey. Producers want a current jockey to play the role, and Haire has produced some candidates who are reading for the part. You might remember the producers of “Seabiscuit” cast actor Tobey McGuire in the main jockey character.

Haire also has a role in the production of the Animal Planet reality series “Jockeys” which has new episodes airing beginning Aug. 21.

The biggest challenge for producers may be finding a horse with the physical qualities of Big Red, who many say was the most impressive physical specimen of horse flesh ever seen. Sort of like finding someone to play Shaquille O’Neal. A casting call for equine talent is expected to go out soon.

If all goes well, the movie will be released in 2010.