Warren R. Stute (September 30, 1921 - August 9, 2007) was an American

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

trainer who conditioned racehorses for almost 70 years from a base in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Clement L. Hirsch Clement Lang Hirsch (April 26, 1914 – March 15, 2000) was an American businessman and a prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner who co-founded Oak Tree Racing Association. Born in St. Louis, Missouri to a very successful family of retail mer ...

, co-founder and owner of

Oak Tree Racing Association The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American nonprofit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California. Graded Stakes races at the Oak Tree meet Since Oak Tree Racing moved to Hollywood Park in 2010, some ...

was among his prominent clients and someone whose horses he trained for more than forty years. He also trained for prominent show-biz people such as

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

as well as

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

and her husband, bandleader

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

Racing career

Warren Stute made plans for a career in racing as a jockey but after serving with the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

he was too heavy to ride and began working at the

Santa Anita Park 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 ...

stables in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

as a hotwalker and a galloper of horses under trainer Yorky McLeod. He obtained his trainers' license in 1940 and by 1948 had set up his own public stable. In 1951, he won the then richest race in the United States, the

Santa Anita Maturity The Strub Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California each year. Currently a Grade II stakes race with a purse of $200,000, it is for four-year-olds, at one and one-eighth miles on Santa Anita ...

. Of racing history significance is that Stute chose as his jockey a kid named

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sh ...

. The win gave both Stute and Shoemaker their first ever $100,000 race win. In 2002 Warren Stute got his first million dollar race win in the

Godolphin Mile The Godolphin Mile is a Group 2 flat Thoroughbred horse race in the United Arab Emirates for Southern Hemisphere three-year-old horses and Northern Hemisphere four-year-olds. It is contested on dirt over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 8 ...

Nad Al Sheba Racecourse Nad Al Sheba Racecourse was Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates opened in 1986. It had a 2,200 m left-handed dirt race track and a left-handed turf course of the same distance. It operated from November through March ...

in Dubai.

Figonero Figonero (foaled 1965 in Argentina) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known for racing in the United States, where he set a world record for 1 miles in winning the 1969 Del Mar Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack in California. Racing career In ...

, an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

import, was the best horse Warren Stute ever trained. In 1969, the horse won three races in eight days including the

American Handicap The American Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of one mile on the turf track held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in June. The race currently offers a purse of $100, ...

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

and the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

on dirt. Figerono also set 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 ...

in his win of the 1969

Del Mar Handicap The Del Mar Handicap is an American thoroughbred horse race run each year during the third week of August at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The Grade II race is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and three-eighths ...

, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:46 1/5.

Pincay Award

Along with brother

Mel Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

, Warren Stute was the recipient of the 2006 Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award given annually by

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 ...

to someone who has served the horse racing industry with

integrity Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...

, dedication, determination and distinction.''Bloodhorse''.com – June 24, 2018 "Stute Brothers Named Pincay Award Winners"
Retrieved August 25, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stute, Warren 1921 births 2007 deaths American horse trainers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from Indiana Sportspeople from Fort Wayne, Indiana People from the San Gabriel Valley