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Warren Wright, Sr. led Calumet Baking Powder after taking over the Chicago company from his father in 1913, guided it to such success that it was sold for $40 million in 1928, and after his father William Monroe Wright died in 1931, converted his Lexington farm from Standardbreds to Thoroughbreds. In the final two decades of his life, Calumet became the jewel of the Bluegrass and the dominant American stable. With Ben A. Jones as trainer and Bull Lea as the primary stallion, Wright bred and raced winners of six Horse-of-the-year titles in the 1940s alone. Calumet's Triple Crown winners Whirlaway and Citation were among the most famous and beloved American Thoroughbreds. Wright won four Kentucky Derbys, and after his death his widow, who married Adm. Gene Markey, continued the tradition until Calumet Farm had seen a record total of eight winners in its famed devil's red and blue colors. The Lucille Parker Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky was named for the former Mrs. Wright.
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Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky · United States
