Calumet Farm was sold for nearly $36 million to an investment group that plans to continue thoroughbred operations.
Calumet is near Keeneland racetrack and is the breeder of a record nine Kentucky Derby winners.
Kennelot Stables announced the sale to Calumet Investment Group Trust on Thursday, according to Charles Middleton, an attorney and trustee for the buyer. The group will lease the 799-acre property to former tobacco executive Brad Kelley's operations.
With its white-plank fences and white barns trimmed in the red silks of its former owners, Calumet is the postcard image of a Bluegrass farm. It also was the gold standard of the thoroughbred industry between 1934 and 1982 when it produced 148 stakes winners and earned $26.4 million in purses.
''Calumet is a huge part of the tradition of this industry and the Commonwealth of Kentucky,'' Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said. ''I think anybody who is hearing this news today that loves thoroughbred racing, loves the horse industry in Kentucky is dreaming of seeing those fields filled with mares and foals again and seeing Calumet as a vibrant and important part of this industry. And maybe seeing those devil's red and blue silks on the track again.''
The 55-year-old Kelley owns Hurricane Hall in Lexington, and Bluegrass Hall is the racing arm of the breeding farm. He'll start Colonial Empress in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and Optimizer in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Middleton said he doesn't know if Kelley will attend the races and that he wouldn't comment on the purchase of Calumet.
''He's focused on winning the Derby and the Oaks this week,'' Middleton said.
Kelley, who lives in Tennessee and made $1 billion from the sale of his discount cigarette company in 2001, stays out of the public spotlight. According to Forbes, he's No. 263 on the list of the 400 richest Americans and owns more than 1.7 million acres of land stretching from Florida to New Mexico.
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.
