Effective Monday, Sept. 7, Phoenix Thoroughbreds cannot have runners in races in Great Britain until further notice, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Thursday. Phoenix had earlier in August made the decision to leave UK racing and was reportedly banned from racing in France a few days later. Any horse currently entered will not be permitted to be declared in its current ownership. All racing administration accounts of all registered ownership entities that involve Phoenix Thoroughbreds have been suspended. The BHA is in regular correspondence with Phoenix Thoroughbreds, and after reviewing the information available to date, the BHA decided on the suspension of Phoenix entries.
Last November, Phoenix principal Amer Abdulaziz was named in a U.S. federal court trial as being involved in a money-laundering operation. Abdulaziz was also alleged to have stolen money from sham cryptocurrency OneCoin. Phoenix's U.S. Head of Operations Tom Ludt left the company in August.
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