 Yong Joel Curtis (Ted Donaldson) finds an orphaned colt in the woods, whom he names "Red" and raises and trains him. When he learns that his grandmother (Jane Darwell) is going to have to sell her ranch to pay off the debts, he trains Red, with the help of Andy McBride (Robert Paige), as a race horse with the intention of selling his beloved animal friend in order to pay off his grandmother s debts.