Mark-Ye-Well
Encyclopedia
Mark-Ye-Well was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. Bred and raced by Calumet Farm
, he was sired by their five-time North American Champion Sire
, Bull Lea
. Mark-Ye-Well was out of Mar-Kell
, Calumet's excellent racing mare who was the 1943 American Champion Older Female Horse.
Trained by the father and son team of Ben
and Jimmy Jones
, Mark-Ye-Well was ridden by Eddie Arcaro
in most of his major races. At age two, the colt
had to be taken out of training as a result of a stifle joint
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 had developed into one of the top runners in his age group in the United States, winning important races such as the Arlington Classic
, American Derby
, and the Lawrence Realization Stakes
.
Mark-Ye-Well was sent to race in California
in 1953, where he won the Santa Anita Maturity
, the San Fernando Stakes, and the state's richest and most important race, the Santa Anita Handicap
. 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
and San Marcos Handicaps. At Chicago's
Arlington Park
, he won the Stars and Stripes Handicap and the Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap.
He was retired to stud
duty at Calumet Farm beginning with the 1956 season. Less than successful, Mark-Ye-Well sired only three stakes winners before he was sold to breeders in Scandinavia
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
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...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Bred and raced by Calumet Farm
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 Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
, he was sired by their five-time North American Champion Sire
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
, Bull Lea
Bull Lea
Bull Lea was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history...
. Mark-Ye-Well was out of Mar-Kell
Mar-Kell
Mar-Kell was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Her dam was the 1934 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Nellie Flag, and her sire was the 1930 Epsom Derby winner Blenheim, who had been imported to the United States in 1937 by a syndicate that included Mar-Kell's breeder, Calumet...
, Calumet's excellent racing mare who was the 1943 American Champion Older Female Horse.
Trained by the father and son team of Ben
Ben A. Jones
Benjamin Allyn Jones was a thoroughbred horse trainer.Born in Parnell, Missouri, Ben Jones went into the business of breeding and training of thoroughbreds during the first decade of the 20th century, racing his horses on small circuits in the American West and in Mexico...
and Jimmy Jones
Horace A. Jones
Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones was an American thoroughbred horse trainer.The son of Hall of Fame horse trainer Ben A. Jones, Jimmy Jones was born in Parnell, Missouri...
, Mark-Ye-Well was ridden by Eddie Arcaro
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, 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 Crown twice...
in most of his major races. At age two, the colt
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
had to be taken out of training as a result of a stifle joint
Stifle joint
The stifle joint is a complex joint in the hind limbs of quadruped mammals such as the sheep, horse or dog. It is the equivalent joint to the human knee...
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 had developed into one of the top runners in his age group in the United States, winning important races such as the Arlington Classic
Arlington Classic
The Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...
, American Derby
American Derby
The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at the city's old Washington Park race track and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed and the track demolished....
, and the Lawrence Realization Stakes
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:...
.
Mark-Ye-Well was sent to race in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1953, where he won the Santa Anita Maturity
Strub Stakes
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 $300,000, it is open to horses, age four, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the synthetic surface of Santa Anita and offers...
, the San Fernando Stakes, and the state's richest and most important race, the Santa Anita Handicap
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 is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season...
. 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
Quarter crack
A quarter crack is a term used by horsemen to describe a vertical split in a horse hoof wall at or about the quarter or widest part of the hoof. Quarter cracks are not an uncommon injury in horses worked extensively in horseshoes....
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 Handicap
The San Antonio Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
and San Marcos Handicaps. At Chicago's
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
, he won the Stars and Stripes Handicap and the Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap.
He was retired to stud
Stud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
duty at Calumet Farm beginning with the 1956 season. Less than successful, Mark-Ye-Well sired only three stakes winners before he was sold to breeders in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
.