Any Given Saturday (foaled January 29, 2004 in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) is a retired American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

and sire.

Background

From the mare Weekend in Indy, a daughter of the 1992 U.S. Horse of the Year and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee A.P. Indy, Any Given Saturday was sired by the increasingly important

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

Distorted Humor, who produced 2003

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

winner Funny Cide. Consigned to the September 2005 Keeneland yearling sale, he was sold for $1.1 million to WinStar Farm and partnered to Padua Stables, who entrusted his race conditioning to the United States' leading

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

, Todd Pletcher.

Racing career

On September 15, 2006, Any Given Saturday won his racing debut at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. He won again in his second outing in an October allowance race at

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

. Moved up to compete in a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

event, at the end of November he finished second in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Racing as a three-year-old, Any Given Saturday won his first outing in the February 2007 Sam F. Davis Stakes followed by a strong second to Street Sense in the Tampa Bay Derby. Sent north to New York's

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

, he ran third behind winner Nobiz Like Shobiz in the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memor ...

before finishing eighth in the

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

, 10½ lengths behind winner Street Sense. According to his trainer, Any Given Saturday came out of the Kentucky Derby with a "pretty bad foot bruise." Given two months to recuperate, by the time the colt returned to the track on July 4, he was all but forgotten as a contender in his three-year-old age group. However, he scored a four-length win in the

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

Dwyer Stakes, then on August 5 at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

in Oceanport, New Jersey, he defeated highly regarded

Hard Spun Hard Spun (foaled May 10, 2004 near Malvern, Pennsylvania) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Background Hard Spun is a bay horse with a white star standing 16.2 hands high. He is from one ...

and

winner Curlin by 4½ lengths in the million-dollar Grade I Haskell Invitational Handicap. On August 15, 2007, it was announced that Any Given Saturday had been purchased privately by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley operations. The horse was scheduled to race for his current owners until after this year's Breeders' Cup Classic. A spokesman for Darley stated that no decision has been made as to whether Any Given Saturday would compete in 2008 at age four. On September 22, 2007, Any Given Saturday won the

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-olds and up willing to race one and ...

by 2½ lengths as the favorite over Tasteyville and Helsinki, topping $1 million in career earnings. In late October at Monmouth Park Racetrack, he finished sixth on a sloppy track in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Retirement and stud record

Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud at Jonabell, near Lexington,

, announced that Any Given Saturday would be retired to stand for $40,000 live

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt (horse), colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. Whe ...

for the 2008 season. Any Given Saturday's descendants include: ''c = colt, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

'' {, 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 , - , 2010 , Carving , c , Real Quiet Stakes , - , 2011 , Hoppertunity , c , Clark Handicap, Brooklyn Invitational Stakes, Tokyo City Cup Stakes,

San Antonio Handicap The Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Run at miles on the dirt, the race is for horses aged three and upward and carries a purse of $200,000. The race was inaugurated ...

, San Pasqual Handicap, Rebel Stakes , - , 2011 , Earth Connector , c , Matsudo Tokubetsu , - , 2012 , Cristina's Journey , f , Pocahontas Stakes , - , 2013 , Adventist , c , Greenwood Cup Stakes , -

References

Any Given Saturday's pedigree and racing stats

NTRA details and video on Any Given Saturday's win in the Haskell Invitational Handicap

Bloodhorse.com article titled ''Any Given Saturday to join Darley team''

External links

ESPN Any Given Saturday Retired to Stud
2004 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 3-o