By T.D. THORNTON S ol Kumin is the founder of an equity are rarely sustainable over the long run. And in hedge fund that manages more than a recent interview at the Boston offices of his a billion dollars in investments. With firm, Folger Hill Asset Management, Kumin is af- no background in Thoroughbred fably blunt when he starts the conversation by racing, he got into racehorse ownership only a bringing up how so many trips to the winner’s couple of years ago, at first on a lark, and now circle in so many high-profile races are definitely on an increasingly enthusiastic scale because not the norm for any rookie in the racing game. the game is an alluring, combustive spark to his “We try to look at horse ownership like a competitive instincts. business,” Kumin explained. “But is it the most Since his first winner in March 2014, Kumin, important thing that we make a lot of money? 41, has organized three main and several off- Of course not. The most important thing is we shoot partnerships that have introduced doz- want to have fun. My partners, for the most ens of newcomers to the sport, and the roughly part, are buddies who have seen what an awe- 60 horses his coast-to-coast groups now have in some time I’ve been having, and they say, ‘The training include 14 separate graded stakes win- next time you buy a horse, let me know, and I’m ners. Among the whirlwind of his partnerships’ in.’ They’re not doing it assuming this is going highlights are a win in the GI Preakness S. by Ex- to be a massive financial home run. I think if aggerator (Curlin), scores in Breeders’ Cup races you said to them, ‘Look, if we can run this thing with Lady Eli (Divine Park) and Wavell Avenue close to neutral and have a great time over five (Harlington), and a win at Royal Ascot with Un- years,’ I think everybody would be very happy.” drafted (Purim). Presumably, break-even propositions where When you start trading stocks on Wall Street, the chief aim is to have a blast on Saturday af- one of the fundamental concepts you’re expect- ternoons are hardly the types of deals the head ed to grasp is “regression to the mean,” which is of a nine-figure hedge fund is accustomed to a fancy way of saying spectacular early results brokering. But that’s just the point—Kumin’s re- 5