Phoenix Thoroughbreds founder implicated in money-laundering scheme

The founder of the internationally prominent Phoenix Thoroughbreds syndicate has been implicated in a money-laundering scheme in a New York court, according to a published report.

Amer Abdulaziz of Dubai, who heads Phoenix Thoroughbreds, is alleged to have had a role in fraud pertaining to the fake cryptocurrency OneCoin, the Racing Post reported on Sunday.

American attorney Rick Scott was found guilty of bank fraud and money laundering by a jury in federal court in New York on Thursday for his involvement in OneCoin, which prosecutors have described as a Ponzi scheme. During testimony in the case, Abdulaziz was alleged to have played a role in the money laundering operation.

Phoenix, which was launched in 2017, has played an active role at leading auctions throughout the world and has raced several notable horses in recent seasons.

The stable owns Gronkowski, who finished second in the $12 million Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last March and was second in the 2018 Belmont Stakes. Last June, the Phoenix-owned Advertise won the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in England.

The Phoenix-owned filly Dream Tree won the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita with Abdulaziz in attendance. In the winner’s circle, Abdulaziz said Phoenix is structured as a $250 million equine investment fund with broodmares, weanlings, and racing and breeding stock.

At the time, Abdulaziz described Phoenix’s investors as pension funds, and high-worth individuals, but declined to go into detail.

“Racing is a small part,” he said after Dream Tree’s win. “We have investors from different parts of the world.”

At the Keeneland November Sale earlier this month, Phoenix purchased six mares for $1,447,000, including Dreaming of You for $500,000.

“Breeding is a vital part of the innovative fund’s business model,” Phoenix said on its website, announcing the purchase of the mares.

The stable has been prominent from its inception, paying $1.7 million for the filly Diamondsandpearls, the most expensive hip at the 2017 Ocala Breeders Sale of 2-year-olds in-training that March. Diamondandpearls won 2 of 3 starts and earned $71,400.

In June, Phoenix Thoroughbreds paid $350,000 for a colt by Tapiture at the Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita sale of 2-year-olds in-training, the most expensive colt of the sale. Trained by Bob Baffert, the colt, named Backshot, was fifth in a maiden special weight race at Del Mar on Aug. 31 in his only start to date.

Tom Ludt, the head of operations for Phoenix in the United States, signed the ticket for the colt. Ludt was not immediately available for comment late Sunday afternoon.