Tom Gentry, whose magical ability to sell horses on the yearling market was compromised in the late 1980s by divorce proceedings, bankruptcy, and later a brief stay in federal prison, has joined a lending firm that recently was launched in Lexington.Gentry is handling the equine loan department for Apollo Capital Inc., which opened its offices in early August and has begun to advertise in trade publications.

The son of noted Idle Hour Stock Farm and Darby Dan Farm Manager Olin Gentry, Tom Gentry said the firm has kept him busy in its opening weeks of business.

"I've had meetings all day this week; we're talking about major loans," Gentry said. He would not elaborate on with whom he was dealing. "I'm new to this end of the industry and don't want to get excommunicated."

Gentry said he became involved in the venture by chance after overhearing Apollo President Lee Kendrick talking to friends out at dinner one night.

"He was talking about how much he can do in real estate (loans) and I told him he was missing out on the biggest industry in the world right here," he said. "We hope to make some equine loans and we feel like we can be very competitive."

Gentry said he had been working primarily as a bloodstock agent in recent years. He served just under five months in federal prison in the mid-1990s after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud and money laundering charges stemming from attempts to hide nearly $400,000 from creditors and a court-appointed trustee. The prison term ended nearly a decade of financial and personal turmoil for Gentry, who sought bankruptcy protection in January 1987 shortly after his wife filed for divorce and claimed that Gentry was hiding millions from her to avoid alimony payments.

When asked if he is concerned what effect his past might have on his status as an equine lender, Gentry brushed the issue aside.

"If there's anybody out there that knows more about equine financing, I'd like to meet them," he said. "All that other stuff was really divorce-related and has been over with for 15 years. You can't keep focusing on that."—John Harrell