About mid-April rumors began to speculate about the sale of Calumet Farm... the multi-million dollar thoroughbred farm in Kentucky where Matt and I have been living for the past 10 months. With this rumor came the uncertainty of us being able to stay on the farm or not. Go forward a week or so to April 25th... the sale of our Texas house was official and we closed! We were very, very thankful. That weekend we were told we would need to be out of this house in Lexington by June 1st. So... on April 24th we had 2 homes and by April 27th we technically had none! Crazy how God works, but I wasn't panicked.... I knew He'd work things out for us.
Well, news broke of the Calumet sale a little earlier than expected and then the rumors were that it made the guy so mad that he backed out of the sale.... woohoo for us!
However, just yesterday, May 3rd, the sale did finalize and we have been given a move out date, but of July 1st, not June. We were thrilled! To many of you that's just one extra month and who really cares, to us, it's time to figure out where God really wants us :) God planned the sale of our Texas house and planned that we'd have to leave this house in Lexington... so He definitely has a house out there for us! July 1st will come up quickly, but we're not worried...I'll fill you in as our house journey continues!!!
Here are some background articles of Calumet
and the sale for any who want to keep reading:
The eight Derby winners from Calumet Farm are: Whirlaway (1941), Pensive (1944), Citation (1948), Ponder (1949), Hill Gale (1952), Iron Liege (1957), Tim Tam (1958) and Forward Pass (1968). In addition to breeding all eight of its winners, Calumet also bred 1991 winner Strike the Gold.
Founded in 1924, Calumet also has a record seven wins in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of racing's Triple Crown. Its last major stallion, Alydar, became racing's most beloved runner-up after his exciting rivalry with Affirmed in the Triple Crown races of 1978.
The property fell into financial disarray in the 1980s during the management of J.T. Lundy.
Calumet declared bankruptcy in 1991, listing debts of more than $118 million and there was suspicion surrounding the 1990 death of Alydar, who was heavily insured. Lundy and Gary Matthews, the stable's one-time chief financial officer and legal counsel, were later convicted of fraud and bribery stemming from the farm's downfall.
Henryk de Kwiatkowski purchased the farm in 1992 for $17 million and was perceived as a savior for keeping the farm intact. He died in 2003 and the property has been part of his trust ever since. Stallions returned to the farm earlier this year for the first time since 2004.
Taken from: SI.com the article is titled Calumet Farm Sold to Invesment Group for $36M
Calumet Sold to Trust
Kennelot Stables, operated by the de Kwiatkowski Trust, announced May 3 it has sold the historic Calumet Farm and all of its improvements to the Calumet Investment Group Trust. The trustee for the buyer also announced the farm will be leased to Central Kentucky Thoroughbred operations Hurricane Hall and Bluegrass Hall, which are owned by billionaire businessman Brad Kelley.
The Associated Press reported a purchase price for the 799-acre property of nearly $36 million.
Bluegrass Hall has homebred Optimizer, a son of English Channel , entered in the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and owns longshot Colonial Empress, a daughter of Empire Maker, who has been entered in the May 4 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). Both horses are trained by D. Wayne Lukas.
"Both of these operations owned by Mr. Kelley will be consolidated on the property," said Charles Middleton, a Louisville attorney and the trustee for the Calumet Investment Group Trust. About 280 horses are currently on the farm, which sits along New Circle Road west of Lexington, and they will be relocated during a transition phase. The anticipated official turnover date for the property is July 15.
Kelley, 54, was born in Franklin, Ky., and founded Commonwealth Tobacco, a discount cigarette company, in 1990. He sold the business for $1 billion in 2001 and since has acquired more than 1.7 million acres of property in Florida, New York, Texas, and New Mexico. According to Forbes, he's No. 263 on the list of the 400 richest Americans.
Kelley is a former Churchill Downs Inc. stockholder and also owned Kentucky Downs, which is located in his hometown on the Tennessee border. He has been active at Thoroughbred auctions and owns roughly 60 broodmares.
Calumet, perhaps the most recognized property in Central Kentucky, sits along Versailles Road near Keeneland. It has a long history of producing top horses, but fell into bankruptcy in the early 1990s following the management of J.T. Lundy. The late Henryk de Kwiatkowski purchased the farm at auction in 1992 for $17 million and restored the property.
Rumors had been circulating for a couple weeks that Kelley was purchasing Calumet. When asked if Kelley was associated with or part of the trust that purchased the farm, Middleton said that information on the identity of those involved is confidential.
"The rumors were not far off," Middleton said. "I can say the rumors probably accelerated things."
The purchase, which includes all the property, the farm name and the silks, was signed at 2:30 p.m. May 3, and the deed officially transfered at 3 p.m.
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69474/calumet-sold-to-trust#ixzz1tuAdkzxl
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