Calumet Farm is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

breeding and training farm established in 1924 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the

Calumet Baking Powder Company The Calumet Baking Powder Company was an American food company established in 1889 in Chicago, Illinois, by William Monroe Wright to manufacture baking powder. Calumet operated independently until it was acquired by General Foods in 1929. , Calu ...

. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegrass, a well-known horse breeding region. Calumet Farm has a record history of Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winners and 11 horses in the

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 horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

Horses

Calumet Farm has produced ten

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

winners, more than any other operation. The farm is also the leading breeder and owner of

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

winners, with seven each. Two of the farm's colts have won the U.S. Triple Crown and three females the Triple Crown for fillies. Calumet Farm's winners of the

are:

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

(1941), Pensive (1944),

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

(1948), Ponder (sired by Pensive - 1949), Hill Gail (1952), Iron Liege (1957), Tim Tam (1958),

Forward Pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes grid ...

(1968 by DQ),

Strike the Gold Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, ...

(1991) and

Rich Strike Rich Strike ( foaled April 25, 2019) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 2022 Kentucky Derby, racing at 80:1 odds. Rich Strike is the second-biggest longshot to have won the Kentucky Derby after Donerail (91:1 odds) in 1913. He ...

(2022). Two of these greats, Whirlaway and Citation, are

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

champions. Eleven of the farm's horses have been inducted into the

. Other well-known horses include Nellie Flag, Armed, Two Lea, Mar-Kell, A Gleam, Twilight Tear, Mark-Ye-Well, A Glitter, Bewitch,

Coaltown Coaltown (1945–1965) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse of whom ''The New York Times'' said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century." Coaltown was nicknamed "The Goose" by the stable empl ...

, Real Delight,

Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...

, Our Mims, Davona Dale,

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown of Thoro ...

, and Before Dawn.

History

Founded in

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...

, the

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

breeding operation was moved to the more favorable climate of Kentucky by W. M. Wright. At a time when

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

was the most popular type of

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

, in 1931 the farm's trotter "Calumet Butler" won the most prestigious event of the day, the Hambletonian. After Wright died in 1932, his son Warren Wright, Sr. took over the business and began converting it to Thoroughbred breeding and training. His acquisition of quality breeding stock saw Calumet Farm develop into one of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

's most successful stables in Thoroughbred racing history. Calumet Farm was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1991. The

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

named its baggage car #5868 the "Calumet Farm". A key move was acquiring part ownership in Blenheim, a stallion imported from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and its foundation sire,

Bull Lea Bull Lea (March 11, 1935 – June 16, 1964) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history. In their ...

. Under Warren Wright, Sr. and his wife Lucille Parker Wright, who inherited the property on his death in 1950, Calumet was the top money-earning farm in racing for 12 years. In 1969, the Keeneland Association honored Calumet Farm with its

Keeneland Mark of Distinction Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

for their contribution to Keeneland and the Thoroughbred industry. Lucille Wright died in 1982 and according to the terms of her first husband's will, the farm went to the heirs of their only child, Warren Wright, Jr. (1920–1978). John Thomas "J.T." Lundy, who married Lucille "Cindy" Wright, took over as head of operations and president. Calumet Farm won the 1990 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder. In November of that year, details surrounding the death of 15-year-old

—America's leading sire of the time—and the collection of a $36 million insurance policy brought a cloud of suspicion over the business. Under Lundy, mismanagement and fraud had left the farm with significant debt that led Calumet Farm to file for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

protection in 1991 as they were losing $1 million a month. After years of legal proceedings, in 2000, Lundy along with Gary Matthews, the farm's former attorney and chief financial officer, was convicted of fraud and bribery and sent to prison. In 1992, a trust established by Henryk de Kwiatkowski, a Polish-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, purchased Calumet Farm, saving it from possible liquidation. Since 1992, the farm has been fully restored to its former beauty. In 2012, the Calumet Investment Group bought Calumet Farm from the de Kwiatkowski Trust for more than $36 million. Calumet Investment Group in turn leased it to Brad M. Kelley, believed to be a member of the investment group. Kelley's horses race under the name of Calumet Farm, but they carry Kelley's black and gold racing colors, as the original "Devil's Red and Blue" silks of Calumet had been sold to a Brazilian investment group. The win of

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

in the

2013 Preakness Stakes The 2013 Preakness Stakes was the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race was held on May 18, 2013, and was televised on NBC. The race was won by Oxbow. The post time of the race was EDT. The race was the 12th ra ...

marked the return of Calumet to the winner's circle of a Triple Crown race for the first time since 1968.

Horses

History

References

Further reading