Telly's Pop was an American Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds.
He was purchased for $6000 by the racing partnership of Hollywood film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 and producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 Howard Koch

Howard W. Koch

Howard Winchel Koch was an American director and producer of motion pictures and television.Born in New York City, he attended DeWitt Clinton High School and the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey...

 and actor Telly Savalas

Telly Savalas

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...

 who named the horse for his father.

Breeding

Bred by Ken Dodd and trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

 Mel Stute

Melvin F. Stute

Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. On December 11, 2010 at Hollywood Park Racetrack he won the 2000th race of a career that includes a win in the second leg of the U.S...

, Telly's Pop was sired by Bold Combatant, a son of the outstanding Champion stallion

Leading sire in North America

The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...

 and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 inductee, Bold Ruler

Bold Ruler

Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.Bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps, Bold Ruler was foaled on April 6, 1954 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky to Nasrullah and Miss Disco by Discovery...

. His dam was Count Us Mary whose grandsire was the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...

 champion, Count Fleet

Count Fleet

Count Fleet was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943....

.

Racing career

In his outstanding two-year-old season, in addition to a win in the Haggin Stakes

Haggin Stakes

The Haggin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Raced in mid-June, it was open to two-year-old horses and was contested on dirt over a distance of five and one half furlongs....

 Telly's Pop won the 1975 Del Mar Futurity

Del Mar Futurity

The Del Mar Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to horses, age two, willing to race seven furlongs on Polytrack synthetic dirt and offers a purse of $250,000.The race is currently...

 at Del Mar Racetrack

Del Mar Racetrack

Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...

 followed by the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

, and then the California Juvenile Stakes

California Juvenile Stakes

The California Juvenile Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds held annually at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California...

 at Bay Meadows Racetrack, all Grade II

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 events that comprised the California Triple Crown for his age group.

Telly's Pop made his three-year-old debut with a win in the March 13, 1976 Grade II

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 California Derby

California Derby

The California Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held early in the year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it's open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt...

 at Golden Gate Fields

Golden Gate Fields

Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...

. The win made him the favorite for the March 28 Santa Anita Derby

Santa Anita Derby

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...

, California's most important race for three-year-olds. However, Telly's Pop finished fifth in the Santa Anita Derby and then sixth in the Hollywood Derby

Hollywood Derby

The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The race is open to horses, age three willing to race a mile and a quarter on turf. It currently offers a purse of ...

. Suffering from soreness in a foreleg and in his back, he did not race again that year. He returned to the track on April 16, 1977 but never regained his racing form and was retired after running sixth in a Santa Anita Park allowance race on October 14, 1977.