Mel Stute

Former Southern California jockey and "King of the Bullring" Francisco "Paco" Mena died last week in Rosarito, Mexico where family members said he had been living. He was 78. Mena's brother, former jockey Guillermo Mena, said his older sibling retired to Mexico and had been staying with family before recently getting his own beachside residence in Rosarito. "He just recently decided he wanted to live on his own. He got a nice little place by the ocean in Rosarito," Mena said. Born in 1947 in Jalisco, Mexico, Mena started riding...

Longtime California trainer Melvin Stute passed away Wednesday in Del Mar, CA. He had just turned 93. Born in Indiana before moving westward with his family as a child, Stute was the brother of fellow California fixture Warren Stute--who died in 2007--and the father of active trainer Gary Stute. "He was like no other person I ever met," said Gary Stute. "He saw the good in everyone. He woke up every day thinking he was going to win, cashing a bet or winning a race. He loved life and he...