Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute (August 8, 1927 – August 12, 2020) was an American trainer of

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 ...

racehorses. On December 11, 2010, at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

, he won the 2000th race of a career that includes a win in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

in 1986, the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

that same year, and the 1987

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

. Stute was the younger brother of trainer

Warren Stute Warren R. Stute (September 30, 1921 - August 9, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who conditioned racehorses for almost 70 years from a base in California. Clement L. Hirsch, co-founder and owner of Oak Tree Racing Associat ...

(1921–2007). His family moved to California in 1934 when Mel was seven years old. In his teens, Stute worked as a groom at

Santa Anita Racetrack Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

before winning his first race as a trainer in 1947 at Portland Meadows Racetrack in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Since then he won twelve training titles at various California tracks of which six were at Fairplex Park Racetrack, where he is the all-time leader in races won.

Champions

In 1986, Stute trained two

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...

. One was

Snow Chief Snow Chief (March 17, 1983 in California – May 18, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Snow Chief was bred by Carl Grinstead. In 1984, retired vaudevillian and successful real estate investor Ben Rochelle bought ...

, with whom he won the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is on ...

and

, and was voted

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ''Turf & Sport ...

. The other was Brave Raj, the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Stute bred and trained

Telly's Pop Telly's Pop (foaled February 25, 1973 in California) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds. He was purchased for $6000 by the racing partnership of Hollywood fi ...

. 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 ...

was owned by the racing partnership of Hollywood

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Howard Koch and actor

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

, the latter naming the horse for his father. In 1975, Telly's Pop became the first horse to ever win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds. Stute also trained

Double Discount Double Discount (foaled 1973 in California) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who on October 9, 1977 set a new world record time of 1:57 2/5 for 1 1/4 miles on turf in winning the Carleton F. Burke Handicap at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Cal ...

who on October 9, 1977, won the

Carleton F. Burke Handicap The Carleton F. Burke Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced in late October as part of the Oak Tree Racing Association series, it is open to horses age three and older and is ...

in a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

time of 1:57 2/5 for 1 1/4 miles on turf. In the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint, Stute won with

Very Subtle Very Subtle (foaled 1984 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three Grade I stakes including the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint against male opponents in which she defeated the heavily favored Groovy by four lengths. Very Subtl ...

, a

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

who defeated males to capture the top prize in the world for

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

horses on dirt.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Stute became the first inductee into Fairplex Park's Hall of Fame. Along with brother Warren, he was the recipient of the 2006 Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, given annually by Hollywood Park Racetrack to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction.

Family

Stute remained active in racing but on a much-reduced scale. Over the years, his wife Annabelle has owned and raced a number of good horses and their son

Gary Stute Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

is also a trainer. He died on August 12, 2020, at the age of 93.

References

External links

Bloodhorse.com's ''Inside Information'' video profile of Mel Stute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stute, Melvin F. 1927 births 2020 deaths American horse trainers People from the San Gabriel Valley Sportspeople from Fort Wayne, Indiana