b'real estateI calyn carfagno have represented Americas economic elites Anne M. eberhArdtCalumet Farm, owned by a succession of prominent individuals, is one of the most recognizable horse farm properties in the world.By JaWoolworth, Mars, Whitney, Belmont, Vanderbiltbut the appeal of the Bluegrass It was international news in 1992 when ahas drawn investors from around the world, dashing man flew in on a private jet to rescueincluding Ireland and the Middle East and,Its about two Calumet, the horse farm that had capturedmore recently, South America.the worlds imagination through a combina- What is that appeal?things. Its about tion of brilliant bloodstock, entrancing scenicIts all about two things: Its about the beauty, enthralling history, and modernland and its about the water, explained Zach scandal.Davis, president of Kirkpatrick and Compa- the land andBut despite the drama of Henryk deny, another leading equine real estate firm. Kwiatkowskis purchase of the fabled horseCentral Kentucky sits atop a massive shelf ofits about the farm at auction, he was only one in a longlimestone that feeds bone-building calcium continuum of people who have wanted toto horses through the bluegrass that growswater.claim a piece of the Bluegrass as their own. on it and the water that runs through it. TheThere are always people who want to berolling hills of the region drain well into the here, Bill Justice, who has sold horse farmshundreds of creeks and streams that burrow for more than four decades, said recently. Hethrough the porous limestone, so developing zach DavIspaused briefly, then repeated, always peoplehorses have firm soil under their feet in all who want to be here.weathers.Those people come from far away The rich soils and bone-building waters like the Polish-born de Kwiatkowskiorhave long attracted people who wanted to from nearby, like Kentucky native Bradraise exceptional horses. And exceptional Kelley, who purchased Calumet from the dehorses attract more good horses, which in Kwiatkowski estate in 2012 for a reportedturn makes the Bluegrass all the more desir-$45,000 an acre. In the past, their namesableand valuable.108 14_RealEstate_use.indd 108 3/20/19 4:37 PM'