Wild Ride
By Ann Hagedorn Auerbach
A fascinating insight into the rise and rapid fall of Calumet Farm. Using a detailed and grisly account of Alydar's death in November 1990 to set the scene, Auerbach charts the rise of Calumet for its founder Warren Wright—an interesting read in itself that takes in the careers of Citation, Whirlaway and Alydar, etc.—before turning her attention to what went wrong in a matter of years under the management of J.T. Lundy.
By the time of Alydar's death, the once stately institution was destitute, with a tangled web of frenzied spending and borrowing having thrown it into unbelievable debt. As Auerbach outlines, the scandal came to “involve jet planes, racecars, priceless works of art, property in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys, a stable called Calumet Australia, and a farm allegedly part of the empire of Mafia kingpin John Gotti.” And then there was Alydar, insured for $36.5 million at the time of his death.
Set against the backdrop of Bluegrass Bubble, it remains relevant even today.
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