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 Association 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 as well as Betty Grable and her husband, bandleader Harry James. [1]
Warren Stute made plans for a career in racing as a jockey but after serving with the United States Army Air Force he was too heavy to ride and began working at the Santa Anita Park stables in Arcadia, California 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 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Of racing history significance is that Stute chose as his jockey a kid named Bill Shoemaker. 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 at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai. [2]
Figonero, an Argentine import, was the best horse Warren Stute ever trained. In 1969, the horse won three races in eight days including the American Handicap on turf and the Hollywood Gold Cup on dirt. Figerono also set a world record in his win of the 1969 Del Mar Handicap, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:46 1/5. [3]
Along with brother Mel, Warren Stute 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. [4]
William Lee Shoemaker was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories.
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 including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023. In 1984, Santa Anita was the site of equestrian events at the 1984 Olympics. Since 2011, the Stronach Group are the current owners.
John Eric "Johnny" Longden was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to Canada in 1909, settling in Taber, Alberta.
The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season. The ten-furlong Santa Anita Handicap currently offers a purse of $400,000.
The Frank E. Kilroe Mile is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to horses four years of age and older, it is raced over a distance of one mile (1.6 km). The Grade I race currently offers a purse of $500,000.
The Santa Margarita Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California for fillies and mares age four and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one and one-eighths miles.
The Precisionist Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III event open to horses, age three and up, it was contested over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on Cushion Track synthetic dirt. The race was named for the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse, Precisionist who won this race in 1985 in which he set a Hollywood Park track record for the then one mile distance.
The Robert J. Frankel Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three and older run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the turf track held annually in late December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently offers a purse of $100,000.
Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. was once flat racing's winningest all-time jockey, still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States.
The Robert B. Lewis Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses at the distance of one mile on the dirt held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
Noble Winfield Threewitt was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who conditioned horses for 75 years before retiring on his 96th birthday. The city of Arcadia, California, home to Santa Anita Racetrack, declared February 24, 2007 to be "Noble Threewitt Day."
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 U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., the award, designed by American sculptor Nina Kaiser, is presented on Hollywood Gold Cup Day, a racecard that features the premier race Pincay won a record nine times.
Skywalker was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for winning the 1986 Breeders' Cup Classic.
The Los Angeles Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California during the spring racing season. It was previously run at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California), which closed in 2013. A Grade III sprint race run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs, it is open to horses aged three and older.
The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America. Inaugurated in 1917 as the Coffroth Handicap, it was named in honor of James Wood Coffroth, President of the Lower California Jockey Club. It was run at the Tijuana Racetrack through 1929 after which it was hosted by the newly built Agua Caliente Racetrack.
Wayne Danforth Wright was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won all three of the Triple Crown races in different years.
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 contested on turf at a distance of one-and-one-half miles. The race is named in honor of Carleton F. Burke, the first chairman of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) who later served as the Director of Racing at Santa Anita Park.
Figonero was a Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known for racing in the United States, where he set a world record for 11⁄8 miles in winning the 1969 Del Mar Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack in California.
The Autumn Miss Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies that are three years old, over a distance of one mile on the turf track held annually in October at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. The event currently carries a purse of $100,000.
Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute 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 that same year, and the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint.
