Popcorn Deelites (April 19, 1998 – January 20, 2022) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

race horse who is best known for his career in film. Foaled in 1998 by Afternoon Deelites out of Turquoise Gal (by Navajo), the

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

ran for six years as a low-level claimer, yet he did win 11 of his 58 starts and accumulated $56,880 in earnings. Popcorn Deelites' bloodline contains some great names:

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

, Secretariat,

Ack Ack Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

, Sword Dancer,

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963–1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1966 Horse of the Year. His other achievements include 1965 Champion Two-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Three-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Handicap Horse, and 1967 Champi ...

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

, and

Gallant Man Gallant Man (March 20, 1954 – September 7, 1988) was a thoroughbred racehorse, named for a horse in a Don Ameche movie. He was one of the most successful racehorses foaled outside the United States with his near miss in the 1957 Kentucky D ...

, all on his top line. From his dam he goes back to

Bimelech Bimelech (February 27, 1937 – 1966) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races and was a Champion at both age two and three. He was ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he sired ...

, Black Toney, Johnstown, Count Fleet, and the " blue hen" mare

La Troienne La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many notab ...

Films

Popcorn Deelites starred in the title role of the 2003 Oscar-nominated ''

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

''. As

, he played alongside Jeff Bridges as Seabiscuit's owner

Charles S. Howard Charles Stewart Howard (February 28, 1877 – June 6, 1950) was an American businessman. He made his fortune as an automobile dealer and became a prominent thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse owner. Biography Howard was dubbed one of the most s ...

, Tobey Maguire as

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Red Pollard John M. "Red" Pollard (October 27, 1909 – March 7, 1981) was a Canadian horse racing jockey. A founding member of the Jockeys' Guild in 1940, Pollard rode at racetracks in the United States and is best known for riding Seabiscuit. Family ...

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), ''Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Cap ...

as trainer Tom Smith,

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey Gary Stevens as the "Ice Man"

George Woolf George Monroe Woolf (May 31, 1910 – January 4, 1946), nicknamed "The Iceman", was a Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey. An annual jockey's award given by the United States Jockeys' Guild is named in his honor. He became known for riding t ...

, and Hall of Famer Chris McCarron as

Charles Kurtsinger Charles Kurtsinger (November 16, 1906 – September 24, 1946) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey who won the Triple Crown in 1937. Known as "Charley" and nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman", Kurtsinger was born in Shepherdsville ...

, another Hall of Fame jockey. A blood

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

with dark points like Seabiscuit, Popcorn Deelites was trained by

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

-based Priscilla Leon and owned by David Hoffmans of

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

. In the film, Popcorn's speciality was to play Seabiscuit breaking from the gate. Because of his natural speed as a sprinter (most of his races were 6 furlong events), he also played Seabiscuit in his races. Five other horses also played Seabiscuit, each one chosen for a special ability. One horse was cast especially to lie flat out and sleep.

Retirement

Before being acquired by Old Friends, a horse rescue and retirement center founded by Michael Blowen in Georgetown, Kentucky, Popcorn was back running in claiming races at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Arapahoe Park Bally's Arapahoe Park is a horse-racing track in Arapahoe County, Colorado on the outskirts of Aurora, owned and operated by Bally's Corporation. Located at 26000 East Quincy Avenue, Arapahoe Park hosts Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Paint Horse and ...

. Blowen bought the horse for $1,500, and he lived at Old Friends with a number of retired racehorses. He died on January 20, 2022, at the age of 23.'Seabiscuit' Star Popcorn Deelites Dies at 24
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

Popcorn Deelites pedigree

Old Friends official site
1998 racehorse births 2022 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 23-b Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Horse actors Horses in film and television Old Friends Equine Retirement

Films

Retirement

See also

References

External links