Upon inheriting Calumet from his father in 1931,
Warren Wright Sr. embarked upon his task of transforming
the farm to Thoroughbred breeding and racing. Throughout
the decade he methodically gathered the best breeding
stock available.
In 1936, Mr. Wright made two purchases which were to
have a tremendous effect on the future of the farm. He
first bought a quarter interest in A.B. Hancock's
imported stallion, Blenheim II. At the Saratoga Yearling
Sale, he purchased Bull Lea, a Bull Dog-Rose Leaves colt,
which became the foundation for much of Calumet's future
success. From Blenheim II and Bull Lea came Calumet's
Triple Crown winners, Whirlaway and Citation, and a host
of other fine stakes-winning performers.
The services of Ben Allyn Jones, trainer of the 1938
Kentucky Derby winner, were added to the Calumet arsenal
in 1939, setting the stage for the fabulous decade which
was to follow.

THE EARLY YEARS
While William Monroe Wright was dedicating his
energies to establishing Calumet as a prominent
Standardbred farm, his duties at Calumet Baking Powder
fell to his son, Warren Wright. Utilizing his genius for
financial matters, he led Calumet Baking Powder to a
pinnacle and then negotiated the sale of the company to
General Foods for $40 million.
Warren Wright had been brought into Thoroughbred
racing by Yellow Cab magnate John D. Hertz. Hertz had
appointed Wright as a director of Arlington Park
RaceTrack in Chicago. When he inherited Calumet Farm in
1931, he undertook the task of transforming the farm from
a Standardbred to a Thoroughbred breeding and racing
operation.
Mr. Wright entered his new venture with the same tough
business philosophy that had proved so successful in his
days with Calumet Baking Powder. With the investment
capital secured from the sale of the family business, he
began to build what would, in just one decade, be the
finest Thoroughbred racing stable in America.
His first purchases were three yearlings - Warren Jr.,
Flirting, and Lucille Wright - at the Saratoga sale in
1931. One of these, Warren Jr., became Calumet's first
starter on May 30, 1932, and also carried Calumet silks
to their first victory at Arlington Park in June of 1932.
The stable's first stakes victory came the following year
with an A.B. Hancock bred colt, Hadagal.
In 1931, John Hertz had advised Wright to purchase
broodmare Nellie Morse (Preakness winner in 1924) from
the "Mutt & Jeff" cartoonist, Bud Fisher.
She was in foal to American Flag at the time and produced
Calumet's first homebred stakes winner and divisional
champion, Nellie Flag.
In the latter part of the decade, Wright
made three moves which were to have a profound effect on
the future of Calumet Farm. In 1936, he purchased a
quarter interest in the imported stallion, Blenheim II,
from A.B. Hancock. Even more significant was his purchase
of a Bull Dog-Rose Leaves colt at the Saratoga Yearling
Sale. After a solid racing career, this colt, Bull Lea,
became one of the greatest sires in Thoroughbred breeding
history. In 1939, Wright made his third move when he
acquired the services of noted trainer Ben A. Jones.
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