Part-owner of Justify is on money
SOL KUMIN began his Kentucky Derby day on the horns of a dilemma.
The former Johns Hopkins lacrosse player was looking ahead to a race in which he’d own parts of three horses, including the eventual winner, Justify. If one of his horses won, the party would commence right around 7 p.m., the same time his alma mater was set to face off with arch-rival Maryland in the Big Ten lacrosse final.
“I cannot miss that game,” he said Saturday morning.
As with many of the problems in Kumin’s life as a Boston-based hedge-fund manager and rising horse owner, this was a good one to have. And, as usual, it turned into a winning weekend all around for Kumin.
He became the first owner since 1952 to have Kentucky Oaks and Derby winners in the same weekend. And Johns Hopkins won the Big Ten Conference tournament over the Terps, 1310, Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.Kumin had been up until 1:30 a.m. the night before, celebrating Monomoy Girl’s victory in the $1-million Kentucky Oaks.
Kumin jumped into the thoroughbred business at the urging of his buddy, Jay Hanley, a Nantucket-based contractor. Hanley said he’d love the thrill of the action and the mornings when he could bring his kids to visit the horses.
One of the first horses they bought was a 2-year-old filly, for $160,000 at the Keeneland April Sale. They named her Lady Eli, after Kumin’s wife, Elizabeth. She went on to win a Grade I stakes race each of the four years she ran before retiring at the end of 2017. Clearly, this was a charmed enterprise.
Kumin also hit on one of the first Triple Crown colts he invested in, 2016 Preakness champion Exaggerator.
Kumin knows horse racing