Ort Wells (foaled 1901) was an American

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 ...

two-time Champion racehorse.

Background

Ort Wells was bred by Col. Kinzea Stone of

Scott County, Kentucky Scott County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,155. Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Native Amer ...

. He was sired by

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse ...

winner King Eric and out of the

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 fo ...

Tea's Over, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Racing career

Trained by Enoch Wishard for owner John Drake, Ort Wells was selected the retrospective

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 ...

of 1904 when his wins included the

Brighton Derby The Brighton Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually by the Brighton Beach Racing Association at its Brighton Beach Race Course at Brighton Beach on Coney Island, New York. Open to three-year-olds, it was contested at a distan ...

. He followed up the next year with performances that saw him named American Champion Older Male Horse of 1905.

Stud record

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

, Ort Wells met with modest success due in part to the upheaval in the American racing/breeding industry caused by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

's passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting laws that resulted in the closure of horse racing tracks in the state. American Thoroughbred owners soon began racing in Europe and then sending and/or selling their horses to European breeding farms. After standing in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, in December 1912 Ort wells was one of a large number of horses sent overseas where he stood at stud in Germany.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/12/07/100383743.pdf

References

{{reflist 1901 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United States Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 9