Horse Who Played Seabiscuit Alongside Tobey Maguire Dies Aged 24

Popcorn Deelites, the horse that played famous racehorse Seabiscuit in the 2003 film of the same name, has died aged 24.

The film, which received seven Oscar nominations including a nod for Best Picture, was a critical success and starred Tobey Maguire doing something more serious in between box office-busting stints as Spider-Man.

While horses usually live between 25 and 30 years, Popcorn Deelites – which is a frankly amazing name whatever animal it's attributed to – died of complications from colic.

Per NBC News, Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends Farm, where Popcorn Deelites had been living in retirement since 2005, said the horse would be missed.

He said, 'Pop’s Hollywood history made him an enormous fan favorite, of course.

'But what really won people over was his warm personality and friendly demeanor. Fans adored him and he adored the fans. He will be sorely missed here on the farm.'

Blowen noted that the horse would be missed most of all by his paddock mate, a horse called Special Ring, who is 'devastated' at the loss of Popcorn Deelites.

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who appeared in the Seabiscuit movie, called the horse 'a star' and described him as 'my go-to guy in all the big scenes'.

In actual fact, Popcorn Deelites was one of six horses cast to play Seabiscuit in the movie; he was in the film to play the racehorse breaking from the gate, and his natural sprinting speed meant he also got to play Seabiscuit in the racing scenes.

There were five other horses cast as Seabiscuit involved with production of the film, including one with the job of lying down flat and sleeping, which sounds like a rather cushy role.

In addition to starring alongside Tobey Maguire in an Oscar-nominated film, Popcorn Deelites also had a racing career during which he earned around $57,000 in prize money, winning 11 of his 58 starts.

Although it may have ended slightly sooner than a horse could want, there's no denying that Popcorn Deelites lived an exciting and successful life, before spending years in comfortable retirement.

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Topics: Film and TV

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker