Embattled Phoenix Thoroughbreds re-affirms commitment to racing

In late November, reports surfaced that Phoenix Thoroughbreds founder Amer Abdulaziz had emerged in U.S. federal court testimony as a “key figure” in an international money-laundering scheme involving a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin.

According to witness accounts, Abdulaziz was alleged to have stolen more than 100 million Euros as part of the scam and then used the illicit funds to build a worldwide racing and breeding operation. In a statement released on Wednesday, Phoenix Thoroughbreds again denied the allegations while doubling-down on their commitment to the thoroughbred industry.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds has remained active internationally, entering both Gronkowski and Axelrod for the inaugural Saudi Cup, the $20 million race set for Feb. 29. Domestically, graded stakes winner Lady Apple is preparing to make the Houston Ladies Classic (G3) her 4-year-old debut.

The statement arrived after continued scrutiny by the European racing press, which has criticized Abdulaziz for not conducting interviews on the allegations. The full text reads:

“Phoenix Thoroughbreds wishes to reiterate our long-term commitment and continued investment in the equine industry after our recent homebred successes.

"We are delighted with the success of Farnan, our first homebred winner. His achievements are the culmination of years of ambition, vision and hard work as part of our ongoing long-term breeding strategy.

"As a business, we would like to take stock and use this opportunity to provide clarification over recent misleading reports in the media.

"Phoenix Thoroughbreds remains successful, fully operational and seeks transparency at all times and it is in those interests that we make the following points.

"Phoenix Thoroughbreds have always acted according to the law and are already cooperating with relevant authorities in order to redress the inaccuracies reported in the media.

"In June 2019 our senior management took a business decision to voluntarily close our Luxembourg registered fund (a Luxembourg registered alternative investment fund known as a SICAV-RAIF) in order to achieve (what we had originally set out to do in early 2016) the creation of one of the first regulated thoroughbred funds in the world. As such, the decision was made to formally dissolve the registered fund before it received any investor monies or became operational.

"Investing in the thoroughbred industry is a relatively new asset class and we are currently focused on ensuring that any fund will be, not just registered, but fully regulated financially and legally.

"We at Phoenix Thoroughbreds remain passionate about the thoroughbred industry as a whole and we are fully committed to providing any required assistance to the racing authorities. We confirm that Phoenix Thoroughbreds has always been and continues to be registered, compliant with and operating to the highest standards within the industry.

"We are looking forward to continued relationships with our trusted partners, equine industry colleagues and third-party providers as we seek even further success on and off the racecourse in 2020.”