Arts and Letters
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| Arts and Letters | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Ribot |
| Grandsire | Tenerani |
| Dam | All Beautiful |
| Damsire | Battlefield |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1966 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Paul Mellon |
| Owner | Rokeby Stable. Racing silks: Dark gray, yellow braids, sleeves and cap. |
| Trainer | J. Elliott Burch |
| Record | 23: 11-6-1 |
| Earnings | $632,404 |
| Major Racing Wins, Awards and Honours | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Blue Grass Stakes (1969) Everglades Stakes (1969) Belmont Stakes (1969) Jim Dandy Stakes (1969) Travers Stakes (1969) Metropolitan Handicap (1969) Jockey Club Gold Cup (1969) Grey Leg Handicap (1970) |
|
| Racing Awards | |
| U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1969) U.S. Champion Handicap Male Horse (1969) United States Horse of the Year (1969) |
|
| Honours | |
| United States Racing and Hall of Fame (1994) #67 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century |
|
| Infobox last updated on: November 15, 2006. | |
Arts and Letters (1966-1998) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Owned and bred by American sportsman, and noted philanthropist Paul Mellon, and trained by future Hall of Famer Elliott Burch, the colt began racing at age two. He won two of his six starts in 1968, then at age three won two important Kentucky Derby prep races before finishing second in both the Derby and the Preakness Stakes to the undefeated California colt, Majestic Prince.
He carried the well-known dark grey, yellow braids, sleeves and cap. Arts and Letters came back to win the 1½ mile Belmont Stakes, after which second-place finisher Majestic Prince was retired due to injury. Arts and Letters went on to win several more important races in 1969, and was voted three Eclipse Awards, including the most prestigious: Horse of the Year.
At age four, Arts and Letters won one of three races, his career ending after an injury in the Californian Stakes.
Standing at stud at Greentree Farm, he met with reasonable success. The most notable of his stakes winning offspring is Codex, who gave trainer D. Wayne Lukas his first win in the U.S. Triple Crown race by capturing the 1980 Preakness Stakes.
In 1994, Arts and Letters was inducted in the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Arts and Letters died at the advanced age of 32 in 1998 (though this date is listed as 2000 with the Jockey Club). He was buried at Greentree Farm which is now part of Gainesway Farm.
[edit] References
- Arts and Letters' pedigree and racing stats
- Arts and Letter at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
