Present Day
In addition to cattle, King Ranch raises quarter horses, cutting horses and thoroughbreds, and produced the 1946 US Triple Crown winner Assault and 1950 Kentucky Derby winner Middleground. They also owned a share of La Troienne, the greatest broodmare of the 20th century. The King Ranch had the honor of raising the first quarter horse registered with the American Quarter Horse Association. The stallion's name was Wimpy P-1 and he was given registration number one. In addition, the King Ranch company operates a local museum, maintains other property concerns and works with Texas A&M University to perform agricultural research and development.
The corporation has extensive holdings in other states, with agricultural interests including turf grass farming and citrus in Florida. In 1958, King Ranch paid more than $1 million for Brunette Downs in the Northern Territory. They also owned Risdon near Warwick, Queensland and several other Queensland properties.
In 2001, Ford Motor Company added a King Ranch edition to their F-150 truck line, complete with the King Ranch cattle brand in the logo. In 2003, Ford added King Ranch packages to its Super Duty lineup, as well as the Expedition SUV.
An unusual animal seen in the King Ranch is the nilgai, which were imported from India. As they usually are born in twins, eventually the nilgai started competing with the ranch's cows, and the ranch allowed hunters to come in and hunt the animals. They would gather several (somewhere around 30) each night. This no longer occurs, but the rapidity of this process caused the Texas nilgai to become extremely wary of humans, and they bolt at the sight of vehicles, running nearly as fast as horses.
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