Calumet to Sponsor KY Downs Juvenile Stakes
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Brad Kelley's Calumet Farm has signed on to be title sponsor of Kentucky Downs' premier stakes event for 2-year-olds.
The $300,000, seven-furlong Calumet Farm Juvenile, formerly the Kentucky Downs Juvenile, will be contested on opening day, Saturday, Sept. 5.
"It is an honor to have Calumet involved in our live season with its sponsorship of this important stakes," said Kentucky Downs president Corey Johnsen. "Calumet has historically placed importance on turf racing both here in North America and on an international level as well. This just seemed like a natural fit."
Calumet Farm, the storied home of two Triple Crown winners (Whirlaway, 1941, and Citation, 1948) and eight Kentucky Derby winners, has undergone a renaissance since being purchased by Kelley in 2013.
Among Calumet's stallion roster are several standout turf performers, including English Channel , 2007 champion turf male who won that season's Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) and is the sire of recent Arlington Million (gr. IT) winner The Pizza Man. Another standout turf performer on the Calumet stallions is Red Rocks , who captured the 2006 Breeders' Cup Turf.
Recent additions to Calumet include Real Solution , who won the 2013 Arlington Million, and multiple grade I-winning turf performer Big Blue Kitten, who will take up stud duty at the end of his racing career. Real Solution and Big Blue Kitten both are sons of leading turf sire Kitten's Joy .
Kentucky Downs' 2015 meeting includes five racing dates (Sept., 5, 10, 12, 16, 19) with record purses totaling $7.5 million.
The $300,000 Calumet Farm Juvenile is among 12 stakes races including the $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup (gr. IIIT) on Sept. 19.