Long before Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was born, he was almost repossessed.

American Pharoah came from a pair of racehorses whose unborn foals were collateral for a loan that went bad in 2010.   Stable owner, Ahmed Zayat, put his stables into bankruptcy protection and protected his horses (including unborn American Pharoah).   Before it filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Zayat Stables LLC had run up more than $38 million in debts, mostly to Fifth Third Bank, which accused Zayat of trying to dodge a personal guaranty.

The chapter 11 case temporarily halted Fifth Third Bank’s effort to repossess $37 million worth of horses, including American Pharoah’s parents, Pioneerof the Nile and Littleprincessemma.

Article by Steven Church at Bloomberg.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-05/american-pharoah-almost-got-repossessed-before-he-was-even-born