[2] He was sired by Withers Stakes winner King Eric and out of the mare Tea's Over, a daughter of U.S.
Trained by Enoch Wishard for owner John Drake, Ort Wells was selected the retrospective American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse of 1904 when his wins included the Brighton Derby.
[4] At stud, Ort Wells met with modest success due in part to the upheaval in the American racing/breeding industry caused by the New York State Legislature's passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting laws that resulted in the closure of horse racing tracks in the state.
[5] American Thoroughbred owners soon began racing in Europe and then sending and/or selling their horses to European breeding farms.
After standing in Kentucky, in December 1912 Ort wells was one of a large number of horses sent overseas where he stood at stud in Germany.