Stute was the younger brother of trainer Warren Stute (1921–2007). His family moved to California in 1934 when Mel was seven years old. In his teens, Stute worked as a groom at Santa Anita Racetrack before winning his first race as a trainer in 1947 at Portland Meadows Racetrack in Portland, Oregon. Since then he won twelve training titles at various California tracks of which six were at Fairplex Park Racetrack, where he is the all-time leader in races won.
Stute bred and trained Telly's Pop. The gelding was owned by the racing partnership of Hollywood film director and producerHoward Koch and actor Telly Savalas, the latter naming the horse for his father. In 1975, Telly's Pop became the first horse to ever win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds.
Stute also trained Double Discount who on October 9, 1977, won the Carleton F. Burke Handicap in a world record time of 1:57 2/5 for 1+1⁄4 miles on turf. In the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint, Stute won with Very Subtle, a mare who defeated males to capture the top prize in the world for sprint horses on dirt.
Awards and honors
In 2003, Stute became the first inductee into Fairplex Park's Hall of Fame. Along with brother Warren, he was the recipient of the 2006 Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, given annually by Hollywood Park Racetrack to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction.
Family
Stute remained active in racing but on a much-reduced scale. Over the years, his wife Annabelle has owned and raced a number of good horses and their son Gary Stute is also a trainer.