Arts and Letters (USA)
April 1, 1966 – Fall 1998
Ribot (GB) x All Beautiful (USA), by Battlefield (USA)
Family 1-c
April 1, 1966 – Fall 1998
Ribot (GB) x All Beautiful (USA), by Battlefield (USA)
Family 1-c
While it is a tossup as to whether Arts and Letters or Majestic Prince was the better when both were at the top of their form, there is no question as to which was tougher. Following the rigors of an American Triple Crown campaign which saw him defeat Majestic Prince handily in the 1969 Belmont Stakes while suffering narrow losses to that rival in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Arts and Letters remained unbeaten for the rest of the year, sealing his Horse of the Year campaign with two defeats of champion handicapper Nodouble. He appeared to be poised to continue his dominance when he suffered a career-ending injury in the Californian Stakes as a 4-year-old, aborting owner Paul Mellon's plans to send him abroad to contest the important Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in France. Arts and Letters was a better racehorse than sire.
Race record
23 starts, 11 wins, 6 seconds, 1 third, US$632,404
1969:
1970:
Honors
Assessments
Arts and Letters was rated #67 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 136 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3yo males of 1969, co-highweight with Majestic Prince and 10 pounds above the next-rated quartet of Al Hattab, Dike, Tell, and Top Knight.
Rated atop the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1970 with 132 pounds, 2 pounds above co-champion handicap male Nodouble. (The other co-champion in the handicap male category, Fort Marcy, was rated at 132 pounds on the Free Handicap for turf males.)
As an individual
Arts and Letters stood 15.3 hands. A short-coupled, slightly low-withered chestnut, he had excellent legs and feet with good bone. He was somewhat short-legged for his height and was not a particularly graceful mover. Inclined to pitch tantrums as a 2-year-old, he became more businesslike as he matured and was extremely determined on the track. As to his behavior elsewhere, Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch said that “he was a horse you really had to respect. He was dangerous to be around if you didn't know what you were doing.”
As a stallion
According to The Jockey Club, Arts and Letters sired 270 winners (52.8%) and 27 stakes winners (5.3%) from 511 named foals. The Blood-Horse credits Arts and Letters with 30 stakes winners (5.9%).
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Notable progeny
Codex (USA), Lord Darnley (USA), Tonzarun (USA), Winter's Tale (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Alphabet Soup (USA), Bachelor Beau (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Virginia, Arts and Letters was bred and owned by Paul Mellon, who raced the colt in the name of his Rokeby Stable. He was trained by Elliott Burch. He entered stud in Kentucky in 1971 at Greentree Stud. Later, he was moved to Gainesway Farm, where he was pensioned in 1995. He died in the fall of 1998.
Pedigree notes
Arts and Letters is outcrossed through five generations. His half sister Rokeby Venus (by Quadrangle) is the dam of 1981 Flower Bowl Handicap (USA-G2) winner Rokeby Rose (by Tom Rolfe), the second dam of two-time American champion filly Silverbulletday, and the third dam of 2001 Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) winner Forest Secrets and Grade 3 winner Rumor Has It.
Arts and Letters' dam All Beautiful is a half sister to Art Dancer (by Native Dancer), second dam of seven stakes winners including three-time American champion steeplechaser Zaccio, multiple Japanese Group 3 winner Hokkai Pegasus, and English Group 3 winner Zahdam. She is also a half sister to Parlomia (by Graustark), second dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Waquoit.
All Beautiful and her siblings are out of Parlo (by Heliopolis), a three-time American champion. The female line traces back to the important 20th-century foundation mare Etoile Filante through her best daughter, 1926 American champion 2-year-old filly Fair Star.
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: April 1, 2023
Race record
23 starts, 11 wins, 6 seconds, 1 third, US$632,404
1969:
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- Won Travers Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga; equaled track record 2:01-3/5)
- Won Woodward Stakes (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- Won Metropolitan Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Blue Grass Stakes (USA, 9FD, Keeneland)
- Won Everglades Stakes (USA, 9FD, Hialeah)
- Won Jim Dandy Stakes (USA, 9FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Preakness Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Flamingo Stakes (USA, 9FD, Hialeah)
- 2nd Florida Derby (USA, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Fountain of Youth Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Gulfstream Park)
1970:
- Won Grey Lag Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (1994)
- American Horse of the Year (1969)
- American champion 3-year-old male (1969)
- American co-champion handicap male (1969)
Assessments
Arts and Letters was rated #67 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 136 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3yo males of 1969, co-highweight with Majestic Prince and 10 pounds above the next-rated quartet of Al Hattab, Dike, Tell, and Top Knight.
Rated atop the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1970 with 132 pounds, 2 pounds above co-champion handicap male Nodouble. (The other co-champion in the handicap male category, Fort Marcy, was rated at 132 pounds on the Free Handicap for turf males.)
As an individual
Arts and Letters stood 15.3 hands. A short-coupled, slightly low-withered chestnut, he had excellent legs and feet with good bone. He was somewhat short-legged for his height and was not a particularly graceful mover. Inclined to pitch tantrums as a 2-year-old, he became more businesslike as he matured and was extremely determined on the track. As to his behavior elsewhere, Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch said that “he was a horse you really had to respect. He was dangerous to be around if you didn't know what you were doing.”
As a stallion
According to The Jockey Club, Arts and Letters sired 270 winners (52.8%) and 27 stakes winners (5.3%) from 511 named foals. The Blood-Horse credits Arts and Letters with 30 stakes winners (5.9%).
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 7th on the American general sire list in 1980
Notable progeny
Codex (USA), Lord Darnley (USA), Tonzarun (USA), Winter's Tale (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Alphabet Soup (USA), Bachelor Beau (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Virginia, Arts and Letters was bred and owned by Paul Mellon, who raced the colt in the name of his Rokeby Stable. He was trained by Elliott Burch. He entered stud in Kentucky in 1971 at Greentree Stud. Later, he was moved to Gainesway Farm, where he was pensioned in 1995. He died in the fall of 1998.
Pedigree notes
Arts and Letters is outcrossed through five generations. His half sister Rokeby Venus (by Quadrangle) is the dam of 1981 Flower Bowl Handicap (USA-G2) winner Rokeby Rose (by Tom Rolfe), the second dam of two-time American champion filly Silverbulletday, and the third dam of 2001 Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) winner Forest Secrets and Grade 3 winner Rumor Has It.
Arts and Letters' dam All Beautiful is a half sister to Art Dancer (by Native Dancer), second dam of seven stakes winners including three-time American champion steeplechaser Zaccio, multiple Japanese Group 3 winner Hokkai Pegasus, and English Group 3 winner Zahdam. She is also a half sister to Parlomia (by Graustark), second dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Waquoit.
All Beautiful and her siblings are out of Parlo (by Heliopolis), a three-time American champion. The female line traces back to the important 20th-century foundation mare Etoile Filante through her best daughter, 1926 American champion 2-year-old filly Fair Star.
Books and media
- Arts and Letters' rivalry with Majestic Prince was featured as the 13th chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff of The Blood-Horse.
- “Belmont Buddies,” which tells of the friendship between Arts and Letters and his fellow Belmont Stakes winner Stage Door Johnny, is the 20th chapter in Steve Haskin's Tales From the Triple Crown (2008, Eclipse Press).
- Arts and Letters is profiled in Chapter 9 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
- Arts and Letters is one of 50 Thoroughbreds profiled in Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds. Written by racing historian Jim Bolus with illustrations and commentary by noted equine artist Richard Stone Reeves, the book was released by The Blood-Horse, Inc., in 1994.
Fun facts
- William du Pont, Jr., actually owned All Beautiful at the time she was bred to Ribot to conceive Arts and Letters. Mellon purchased the mare from du Pont's February 1966 dispersal sale prior to the birth of her colt.
- While Arts and Letters could be a horse of uncertain temperament, he had an affectionate bond with trainer Elliott Burch, who could be counted on to come up with sugar lumps as treats for his pet. Nonetheless, Burch knew better than to try to pet him, as Arts and Letters would not tolerate the familiarity.
- In retirement, Arts and Letters' pasture buddy was Stage Door Johnny, the 1968 Belmont Stakes winner. The two stallions had adjoining paddocks, raced each other up and down the fence, and kept one another company from Arts and Letters' retirement in 1970 until Stage Door Johnny's death in 1996.
Last updated: April 1, 2023