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“You don’t have success without good ownership and a team that’s willing to show what they can do, do it continually, and do it on a high level.”
any kind of profit. Since then, they’ve spent several times that making it the place it is today. You don’t have success without good ownership and a team that’s willing to show what they can do, do it continually, and do it on a high level.”
HIS SUNRISE YEARS
Born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, Scott grew up under the tutelage of his father, AQHA Hall of Fame trainer Ted Wells Jr. Ted conditioned Savannah Jr., who won the All American Futurity in 1965 when Scott was 15. Ted’s father had owned the great Hall of Fame stallion Leo and as Scott grew up, he observed Ted’s methods with Leo’s early progeny and the Three Bars daughter Lena’s Bar, who was the dam of Jet Smooth and Easy Jet (both by Jet Deck). Also, on the Wells stallion roster were Azure Te and Easy Six. “Dad was a very successful trainer and then turned to breeding,” says Scott.
Scott met Walt Wiggins Sr. when Walt, the Speedhorse (originally Quarter Racing World) founder, traveled to Wells Ranch to photograph Azure Te and Savannah Jr. for the magazine. That led to Walt illustrating and publishing Scott’s first article on conformation shortly after Scott finished high school.
“I’ve always had an interest in writing and Walt was a real influence on me,” he says.
“He had worked for various magazines and experienced all of these adventures by virtue of his being a writer.”
Scott attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth into his junior year. Then, inspired, Scott quit school and set off to Paris to write “the great American novel.” While there, he realized that what he really wanted to do was train horses. “I’d gone on a one-way ticket,” he says, “and was there about seven months when France devalued the U.S. dollar. Suddenly, I didn’t have enough money to get home and
that was a panic-stricken moment—you weren’t going to get a job in France at that time. So, I sat down and wrote articles about Go Man Go and Top Deck and Three Bars and sent them
to Walt. He sent me the money for them, and that’s what enabled me to come back to the U.S.
“Later on, I called Walt on his deathbed and told him that story and his humor was still vibrant; he said, ‘Well the verdict is still out on how that worked out for both countries!’ He was a terrific jokester, and he could tell a story better than anyone.”
Scott trained Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses for 17 years beginning in 1971, assisting D. Wayne Lukas and Jack Van Berg during that time. In 1984, he won Oklahoma’s first official Thoroughbred race, at Blue Ribbon Downs with Ye Song (Ye-Her Song, Military Plume).
In the Quarter Horse realm, he trained Three Two Yankee (Azure Te-Missile Princess, Missile Bar), who won the Oklahoma Futurity at Raton, New Mexico, as a freshman in 1978.
Among his other trainees were Savannah Sandal (Savannah Jr-Lowood, Roman Sandal), Salty Talent (Talent Bar-Super Ro Ann, Super Charge), Azure One (Azure Te-Hayo Connie, Hijo Hayo), Fleurette (Savannah Jr-Call Me Rose, Speck Deck), Bittersweet Oh (Three Oh’s-
Mighty Hot, Mighty Deck) and Peach Picker (Easy Six-Little Bor-Ax, I’lldoit).
Scott’s writing background led to a request from the AQHA to write a book about racing Quarter Horses. “I was still training at the time and was interested in doing it, but in making some preliminary notes, I realized that Jerry Nicodemus had ridden most of the great horses in recent times. So, I talked to Nic about writing a book about him and he was all for it.”
Speedhorse illustrated and published “The Nicodemus Era,” a 1500-copy limited edition, in 1983. “It was a very fun project,” Scott says. “Nic had won so many big races and it was easier for me to get my arms around that than it was to tackle the whole spectrum of good horses of the time, many of whom I had never even seen.”
Scott trained Three Two Yankee, who won the 1978 Oklahoma Futurity at Raton, New Mexico.
In 1984, Scott Wells won Oklahoma’s first official Thoroughbred race at Blue Ribbon Downs with Ye Song
in the Judge Faulkner Handicap.
SPEEDHORSE December 2021 49