Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute (August 8, 1927 – August 12, 2020) was an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. On December 11, 2010, at Hollywood Park Racetrack, 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 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. Stute was the younger brother of trainer Warren Stute (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. Since then he won twelve training titles at various California tracks of which six were at

Fairplex Park Racetrack Fairplex has been the home of the L.A. County Fair since 1922. Known prior to 1984 as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, it is located in the city of Pomona, California. The L.A. County Fair is held during the month of May since 2022, but the f ...

, where he is the all-time leader in races won.

Champions

In 1986, Stute trained two Champions. 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 and Preakness Stakes, and was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse. The other was

Brave Raj Brave Raj (1984–2006) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who raced only one year and earned 1986 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors and won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.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, 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, Ca ...

who on October 9, 1977, won the Carleton F. Burke Handicap in a world record time of 1:57 2/5 for 1 1/4 miles on turf. In the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint, Stute won with Very Subtle, a mare 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 The Laffit Pincay Jr. Award is an honor given annually since 2004 by Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction. Named for retired N ...

, 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