International Equine Acquisitions Holdings is turning itself into a hedge fund that will make money off of ponies!* IEAH, founded five years ago by Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo, already owns 80 horses in training, 15 broodmares and a handful of future stallions, including Big Brown, who’s favored to win this year’s Kentucky Derby. In its new iteration, Iavarone says the fund will offer “liquidity and options that people in the horse business have never had before.” The firm hopes to raise $100 million and possibly go public before the end of the year. With aspiring jockey Larry Robbins, and his hefty donation, on their side, they can’t lose.
Equine hedge fund tries to outpace the market [Reuters]
*(Don’t care for horses myself but I used the exclamation point because I get the sense I’m in the minority on this one. Show of hands, how many of you foam at the mouth over this stuff? Okay, now among those of you with your hands in the air, how many of you would say your predilection has to do with polo match connotations? And how many would say you’re more inclined to chalk it up to a deeply repressed desire to play with one of these? These are questions IEAH is going to ask you during the qualified investor screening process, better get used to answering them now.)