Mark-Ye-Well (1949–1970) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

Background

Mark-Ye-Well was bred and raced by

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegrass ...

. He was sired by their five-time North American Champion Sire,

Bull Lea Bull Lea (March 11, 1935 – June 16, 1964) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history. In their ...

. Mark-Ye-Well was out of Mar-Kell, Calumet's excellent racing mare who was the 1943

American Champion Older Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...

. Trained by the father and son team of

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

and Jimmy Jones, Mark-Ye-Well was ridden by

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple ...

in most of his major races.

Racing career

At age two, the colt was taken out of training as a result of a

stifle joint The stifle joint (often simply stifle) is a complex joint in the hind limbs of quadruped mammals such as the sheep, horse or dog. It is the equivalent of the human knee and is often the largest synovial joint in the animal's body. The stifle join ...

problem and did not return to racing until February 1952. Brought back slowly, the then three-year-old colt did not compete in any of the 1952 U.S. Triple Crown races, but by mid-year he had developed into one of the top runners in his age group in the United States. In July, he recorded a five-length win in the

Arlington Classic The Arlington Classic Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late May at Arlington Park race track near Chicago. History The event was inaugurated ...

, which was reportedly the most valuable three-year-old race ever run. In the following month, Mark-Ye-Well was described as a "sensation" after he easily won the $103,325

American Derby The American Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed following the state's ban on gambling, and horse ra ...

. The Calumet colt seemed on the way to winning divisional honors at least, but at Belmont in September he was decisively beaten by

Tom Fool Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champi ...

in the

Jerome Handicap The Jerome Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses run each January at Aqueduct Racetrack. Open to three year olds, the race is run at one mile and carries a purse of $150,000. It is a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying race, with the w ...

. Two weeks later, he beat

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

winner

One Count One Count (1949–1966) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Walter M. Jeffords, Sr., and raced by his wife, Sarah, he was a son of the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown Champion, Count Fleet. Racing career One Count di ...

by four lengths in the

Lawrence Realization Stakes The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005. History Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Grave ...

, but One Count was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Colt after reversing the form in the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race, held at the Saratoga Race Course in the United States, that is open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fal ...

.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M8gyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C-wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3447,2170402&dq=mark-ye-well&hl=en Mark-Ye-Well was sent to race in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1953, where he won 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 Anit ...

, the

San Fernando Stakes The San Fernando Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to four-year-old horses, it is contested on at a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt main track. ...

, and the state's richest and most important race, the

Santa Anita Handicap 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 old ...

. His win in the Santa Anita Handicap was the first for Calumet Farm after three previous tries. He then was sent to compete in the Eastern United States but developed a quarter crack that hampered his performance. Sent back to start the 1954 racing season in California, the five-year-old Mark-Ye-Well won the

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and San Marcos Handicaps. At Chicago's

Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...

, he won the Stars and Stripes Handicap and the

Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap Laurance is a surname or given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * John Laurance (1750–1810), American lawyer and politician from New York *Matthew Laurance (born 1950), American actor * William F. Laurance (born 1957), America ...

Stud record

He was retired to

stud Stud may refer to: 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 bar in San Francisco * ...

duty at Calumet Farm beginning with the 1956 season. Mark-Ye-Well sired only three stakes winners before he was sold to breeders in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

References

{{reflist 1949 racehorse births 1970 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 9-f Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States