Afternoon Deelites
{{Short description|American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse (1992–2023)}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Afternoon Deelites
| image =
| caption =
| sire = Private Terms
| grandsire = Private Account
| dam = Intimate Girl
| damsire = Medaille d'Or
| sex = Stallion
| foaled = {{birth date|1992|02|28}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|02|14|1992|02|28}}
| country = United States
| colour = Dark Bay
| breeder = Blue Seas Music Inc.
| owner = Burt Bacharach
| trainer = Richard Mandella
| record = 12:7-3-0
| earnings = US$ $1,061,193
| race = {{ubl|Hollywood Futurity (1994)|Hollywood Prevue Stakes (1994)|Malibu Stakes (1995)|San Felipe Stakes (1995)|San Vicente Stakes (1995)|Commonwealth Stakes (1996)}}
| awards =
| honours =
| updated=
}}
Afternoon Deelites (February 28, 1992 – February 14, 2023) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Afternoon Deelites was bred and raced by pianist, composer and music producer, Burt Bacharach (1928–2023) and trained by Hall of Fame inductee Richard Mandella.
The horse was born in West Virginia, sired by Wood Memorial Stakes winner Private Terms, out of the mare Intimate Girl, whose sire was the 1978 Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Medaille d'Or, a son of the legendary Secretariat.[http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=677994®istry=T Medaille d'Or at Equibase.com]
Racing career
Afternoon Deelites won several Graded stakes races including two Grade 1 events. In 1994 he won the Hollywood Futurity in stakes record time for a mile and a sixteenth that still stands as at the end of 2022.[http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=1362030®istry=T Equibase.com]
In 1995, three-year-old Afternoon Deelites was narrowly beaten in the Santa Anita Derby and went on to run eighth in that year's Kentucky Derby.[http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/62053/afternoon-deelites-pensioned-to-old-friends BloodHorse.com - March 22, 2011]
Stud record
Afternoon Deelites did stallion duty at Airdrie Stud in Kentucky before being moved to a Clear Creek Stud breeding farm in Louisiana. He was the sire of 23 graded stakes winners; one of his offspring, Popcorn Deelites, became known for roles in motion pictures, especially as Seabiscuit in the 2003 film of the same name.[http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/afternoon+deelites Afternoon Deelites' progeny]
Afternoon Deelites' descendants include:
| border="1" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size:90%" |
| style="background:#eee;"
| style="width:35px;"| Foaled | style="width:120px;"| Name | style="width:35px;"| Sex | style="width:580px;"| Major Wins |
| 1998
| Deelightful Irving | c |
| 1998
| Miss Pickums | f |
| 2001
| No Tolerance | c |
| 2002
| Zappa | c |
Illness and death
Due to age related infertility problems, in May 2011, Afternoon Deelites was sent to the Old Friends Equine retirement home for Thoroughbred racehorses in Georgetown, Kentucky.[http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/horses/afternoon-deelites-3285.html Old Friends, Inc.]
Afternoon Deelites was euthanized on February 14, 2023, following complications from colic. He died 2 weeks before his 31st birthday and five days after his owner Burt Bacharach.{{cite web|url=https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/afternoon-deelites-bacharachs-best-runner-dies-at-old-friends/|title=Afternoon Deelites, Bacharach's Best Runner, Dies at Old Friends|work=Thoroughbred Daily News|date=15 February 2023|access-date=15 February 2023}}{{Cite web |title=Afternoon Deelites has Died at Old Friends |url=https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Afternoon-Deelites-has-Died-at-Old-Friends.html?soid=1102520673781&aid=xGow1npIXY0 |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=Old Friends |language=en-US}}