Stute celebrates 87th birthday in style

DEL MAR, Calif. – Mel Stute may be retired from training, but he still is a regular fixture at the track in the mornings and at the betting windows in the afternoons, and many of his friends gathered at the barn of his son, Gary, Friday morning to toast him on the occasion of his 87th birthday.

Ramos Gin Fizzes were being blended well before 8:30 a.m.

“In my younger days, that’s what you drank for a hangover,” Stute said.

The partying was going to continue all day. Stute said Del Mar management arranged for him to spend the afternoon’s races in a private suite on the fifth floor.