Veitch and Calumet Split Again

John Veitch and Calumet Farm have once again parted company. The trainer confirmed Feb. 7 that he has sent 14 newly-turned three-year-olds back to the farm from his New York base.

"Mr. deKwiatkowski decided he wanted to change direction and not have a private stable," Veitch said. "He wants to concentrate on selling, as he did this past year. That didn't leave us with enough material to back having a private stable.

"Everything we had in 2001 in the way of 2-year-olds were buy-backs from the previous yearling sales, and the quality wasn't there. By deciding to sell the majority of his yearlings again in 2002, that would mean next year we wouldn't have the quality we needed, so it wasn't going to work out. You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't have a racing stable and then sell the best of your yearlings."

Veitch plans to put together a stable this spring, and is leaning toward doing so in Kentucky. "I'm a horse trainer," he said, "and I'll start again."

Veitch brought Calumet back to prominence with his training of the brilliant Alydar, who finished second to Affirmed in all three legs of the 1978 Triple Crown. As the farm's private trainer, he also developed the fillies Our Mims, Davona Dale, and Before Dawn into champions.

After leaving Calumet in 1982, Veitch trained Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Proud Truth and champion Sunshine Forever for Darby Dan Farm. He has also trained in Saudi Arabia and worked as a television commentator.