Rokeby Venus other works by Velázquez and was probably deliberate. The painting was given a major cleaning and restoration in 1965–66, which showed it to be in good condition, and with very little paint added later by other artists, contrary to what some earlier writers had asserted. Paintings of nudes and of Venus by Italian, and especially Venetian, artists were influences on Velázquez. However, Velázquez's version is, according to the art historian Andreas Prater, "a highly independent visual concept that has many precursors, but no direct model; scholars have sought them in vain". Forerunners include Titian's various depictions of Venus, such as
Rokeby Stables the Kentucky Derby, Epsom Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In England, Mellon kept his horses at trainer Ian Balding's Park House Stables at Kingsclere and raced under his own name. In the United States, Rokeby Stables employed a number of prominent horse trainers including Hall of Fame inductee Elliott Burch who trained the stable's champions Arts and Letters, Quadrangle, Fort Marcy, Run the Gantlet, and Key to the Mint. Another Hall of Fame inductee, Mack Miller, took over as the Rokeby trainer in 1977. Miller's accomplishments include winning the Kentucky Derby with Sea Hero and the New