Time Magazine cover of May 30, 1949, featuring Calumet trainer Ben Jones

Calumet Farm is a 762 acre (3.1 km²) race horse breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Image File history File links Time-calumet. ... Image File history File links Time-calumet. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... Nickname: Athens of the West Horse Capital of the World Location in the Commonwealth of Kentucky Coordinates: Country State Counties United States Kentucky Fayette Mayor Teresa Isaac (D) Area    - City 285. ...

Initially based in Libertyville, Illinois, the more favorable climate of Kentucky made it a better place for a horse farm and led to W. M. Wright acquiring the land and relocating his standardbred breeding operation. At a time in American history when harness racing was the most popular type of horse racing, in 1931 the farm's trotter "Calumet Butler" won the most prestigious event of the day, the Hambletonian. For other places named Libertyville, see Libertyville (disambiguation) Libertyville Village Hall Libertyville is a suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States. ... Standardbred harness racing horses are so called because in the early years of the Trotting Registry, the standardbred stud book established in the United States in 1879 by the National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders, only horses who could race a mile in a standard time or better, or whose... A trotter training at Vincennes hippodrome Harness racing is a form of horse-racing in which the horses race in a specified gait. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... A trotting horse is a standardbred horse whose gait is diagonal, called trot. ... The Hambletonian is a United States harness racing event held annually for three-year-old trotting standardbreds. ...

Following the death of W. M. Wright, 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's most successful in thoroughbred racing history. Anchored by studs "Blenheim II" and "Bull Lea," and under the guidance of trainer Ben A. Jones, Calumet Farm produced eight Kentucky Derby winners, more than any other operation in U.S. racing history. As well, Calumet Farm is both the leading breeder and owner of Preakness Stakes winners with seven each. From the farm's many great foals, two colts became U. S. Triple Crown winners and three females won the Triple Crown for fillies. The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed in 18th century England when English mares were bred with imported Arabian stallions to create a distance racer. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Blenheim II (1927-1958) was a British-bred Thoroughbred race horse who won the prestigious Epsom Derby in 1930. ... Ben Jones Benjamin Allyn Jones (December 31, 1882 – June 13, 1961) was a thoroughbred horse trainer. ... Churchill Downs racetrack, 2004 The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the three-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. ... The Preakness Stakes is a classic 1 3/16 mile (1. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (Triple Crown for short, but the term is also used in other sports, and thus the full name should be used when it could cause confusion) consists of three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses. ... Filly is also a town in Belgium. ...

Under Warren Wright, Sr. and his wife Lucille Parker Wright who inherited the property on his death in 1950, Calumet was the number one money-earning farm in racing for twelve years and among the farm's great horses are Whirlaway, Armed, Citation, Tim Tam, Forward Pass, Davona Dale, and Alydar. In all, the farm produced eleven horses that have been inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Whirlaway (1938-1959) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse. ... Armed (1941-1964) was a American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame race horse. ... Painting of Citation by Franklin Voss Citation (April 11, 1945 - August 8, 1970) was a thoroughbred American horse-racing champion. ... Silky Sullivan (February 28, 1955 – November 18, 1977) was an American thoroughbred race horse, the come-from-behind runner of come-from-behind runners, the closer of closers. ... Alydar, a chestnut colt born at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 23, 1975 – died at Calumet Farm on November 15, 1990, was an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred... 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. ...

Lucille Wright died in 1982 and according to the terms of her husband's will, the farm went to the heirs of their only child Warren Wright, Jr. (1920-1978). Son-in-law John Thomas Lundy (J.T.), married to 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 Alydar and the collection of a $36 million insurance policy, brought a cloud of suspicion over the business. Under Calumet president J.T. Lundy, mismanagement and fraud had left the farm with a massive debt load that forced Calumet Farms to file for bankruptcy protection in 1991. After years of legal proceedings, in 2000, J.T. Lundy along with Gary Matthews, the farm's former attorney and chief financial officer, were convicted of fraud and bribery and sent to prison. Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is a American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. ... Alydar, a chestnut colt born at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 23, 1975 – died at Calumet Farm on November 15, 1990, was an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ...

In 1992,a trust established by Henryk de Kwiatkowski, a Polish-born Canadian citizen and owner of "Kennelot Stables", purchased Calumet Farm, saving it from possible liquidation by the bankruptcy trustees. Henryk Richard de Kwiatkowski (February 22, 1924 - March 17, 2003) was a Polish-born member of the Royal Air Force who became an aeronautical engineer and made a fortune in business in North America and who owned Calumet Farm, one of the most prestigious Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farms...

References

• Auerbach, Ann Hagedorn. Wild Ride: The Rise and Tragic Fall of Calumet Farm, Inc., America's Premier Racing Dynasty (1994) Henry Holt & Co ISBN 0805020039