Phoenix Issues Statement to 'Reiterate Long-Term Commitment to Equine Industry'

Phoenix Thoroughbreds, embroiled in controversy since its founder Amer Abdulaziz was named in an alleged money laundering and fraud scandal, has released a statement regarding its long-term commitment to racing. The statement reads as follows:

“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.”