 Shut Out was bred by Greentree Stable in Lexington, Kentucky, owned by Mrs. Payne Whitney (Helen Hay Whitney), who had also bred his dam, Goose Egg, by the French stallion Chicle.The year Shut Out was born, Greentree Stables also produced top runner Devil Diver, who beat Shut Out in the 1941 Hopeful Stakes for 2-year-olds.Hall of Fame conditioner John Gaver, training for Greentree, gave Eddie Arcaro his choice of Kentucky Derby mounts