Calumet Farm/ Brad Kelley

Calumet Farm/Brad Kelley

• Kelley, who previously raced under Bluegrass Hall, now runs his horses under the historic Calumet Farm banner.
• On May 3, 2012, it was announced that the 800-acre farm had been sold to the Calumet Investment Trust for an estimated $36-$40 million. At that time it also was announced that Kelley, thought to be one of the trustees, would lease Calumet from the trust. All of the horses from his other two farms relocated to the farm.
• Is enjoying a successful start to the year thanks in part to Optimizer, winner of the Colonel E.R. Bradley and Fair Grounds Handicaps and Kentucky Derby candidate Oxbow, winner of the Lecomte Stakes (G3).
• Best horses in 2012 were Optimizer, who ran in all three Triple Crown races after running in all four of Oaklawn’s 3-year-old races, and Hightail, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint.
• Kelley is a former stockholder in Churchill Downs Inc. and also owned Kentucky Downs, located in his former hometown of Franklin, which sits on the border with Tennessee.
• A self-made man, who founded Commonwealth Tobacco, producer of discounted cigarettes, in 1990. He sold the company in 2001 for $1 billion. He invested in and owns 1.2 million acres of land in Texas, Florida and New Mexico, which makes him one of the 10 largest landowners in America. 
• Is an active wildlife conservationist, spending millions of dollars conserving such animals as black rhinos and white rhinos, pigmy hippos, okapi, impalas, white bearded wildebeests, gazelles and Eastern bongos.