Snapper Sinclair's father once rode for stable owners Patricia and Cliff Barrington, but later was found to have thrown races and was banned from the track. To keep Snapper from being sent to reform school, Patricia offers him a job.

A fast but untamed horse called Faithful quickly becomes Snapper's favorite. He wins races as its jockey, but when he refuses to throw one for gamblers, they reveal publicly who Snapper's father was and suspicion falls on Snapper, who is no longer allowed any mounts.

He leaves for England, where he becomes a very successful rider. One day the Barringtons are there to enter Faithful in a race. Snapper discovers that they are nearly broke. He deliberately loses the race so that Faithful can win. Not sure where to turn next, Snapper is pleased when the Barringtons invite him to come back home.

• Patricia Ellis as Patricia Barrington
• Mickey Rooney as 'Snapper' Sinclair, aka Fred St. Clair
• Dennis Moore as Cliff Barrington
• Willie Best as Noah
• Gordon Hart as Judge Adams
• Wild Bill Elliott as Robert Bates
• Virginia Brissac as Aunt Julia
• Charles C. Wilson as Tex Reardon
• Joseph Crehan as Secretary C.D. Burch
• Mary Treen as Nurse
• Robert Emmett Keane as Nick
• Charley Foy as Arnold Roach
• Crauford Kent as Sir Oliver Martin

• List of films about horse racing

• Down the Stretch at IMDb  
• Down the Stretch at AllMovie
• Down the Stretch at the TCM Movie Database
• Down the Stretch at the American Film Institute Catalog