Calumet Farm has appointed Ken Wilkins as its new director of the farm's stallion division, effective immediately.
"We're thrilled to be able to bring in such an accomplished stallion expert as Ken to help lead Calumet back as a leading stallion station in North America," said Eddie Kane, Calumet's general manager. "Ken has a terrific track record of growing and developing stallion programs, and we look forward to working with him to execute Calumet's vision of revitalizing our stallion program."
Wilkins comes to Calumet after having served as stallion director for some of North America's leading stud farms. He was most recently stallion director for Spendthrift Farm for seven years, where he helped launch such initiatives as the Share The Upside Program and Breed Secure Program. Wilkins also helped grow Spendthrift's stallion roster to one of the largest in North America, and helped develop exciting young stallions such as Into Mischief and Warrior's Reward , as well as Malibu Moon .
"Calumet is one of the most recognized farms in the industry, and it's just one of those special places in our sport. It's a dream job for me, a real opportunity of a lifetime," said Wilkins. "I am very humbled by it, and I look forward to helping write a new chapter in Calumet's storied history.
"Calumet has big plans for returning the farm to prominence," added Wilkins. "Our approach will be reminiscent of Calumet's glory days when the farm had a powerful stable of homebreds that were raced before being retired to stud as leading commercial stallions. We will be active in acquiring new stallions, and those stallions will receive the support of the Calumet broodmare band. We look forward to the challenge of developing leading sires, and eventually creating leading sires that are 100% products of Calumet."
Among Wilkins' initial tasks will be to expand Calumet's stallion roster, which currently includes Americain , Raison d'Etat , Eye of the Leopard , Point Given , Aikenite , and Snapy Halo .