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At 2 1/2-Year Mark, Bettors-Vs.-Baffert Lawsuit on Cusp of Getting Booted Back to Original Court

The New Jersey-based lawsuit in which a group of bettors are alleging they were cheated out of their property by Bob Baffert when his betamethasone-positive trainee, Medina Spirit, crossed the finish wire first in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby and purportedly prevented the plaintiffs from cashing winning tickets on the runner-up is on the cusp of being transferred back to a federal court in California where it was first initiated 2 1/2 years ago.

In a Dec. 22 filing in United States District Court (District of New Jersey), the judge in the case ordered both sides to file letters by Jan. 15 “if either party wishes to explain why this case should NOT be transferred back to the Central District of California.”

The judge explained his rationale: “This case relates entirely, or all-but-entirely, to alleged events at a 2021 horse race in Kentucky,” the judge wrote. “And this case was originally filed by the Plaintiffs in the Central District of California, before the Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims and re-filed them here. This is a case, in short, that has little, if anything, to do with New Jersey.”

The original version of the suit, led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship, was filed in California four days after Baffert's May 9, 2021, disclosure that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone after winning the May 1 Derby.

It wasn't until Aug. 22, 2023, that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 Derby–which also affirmed the elevation of runner-up Mandaloun as the official winner–was sustained after a long administrative appeals process.

Baffert, plus his incorporated racing stable, were named as the defendants back in 2021, and the plaintiffs' California-filed version of the suit made it a point to note that “Venue is also proper for these claims in this Court because Defendants reside and transact their affairs and conduct business in the State of California and, specifically, through this District.”

The more than 30 class members of that suit chose the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) Act as a tool to try and collect damages. In addition, they sought an order from the judge stating that Baffert must divest himself from the sport.

RICO is a sweeping 1970 federal statute initially designed to combat the Mafia. But in a legal sense, it has long since lost its “organized crime” stigma. RICO today is rarely used to go after stereotypical “godfather” figures. Instead, RICO has evolved as a civil litigation component, and is most often asserted by purported victims of white-collar crimes, such as mail and wire fraud.

Two months after its initial filing, the class-action complaint was withdrawn from the California federal court on July 22, 2021. One day later, an amended version of it resurfaced in New Jersey.

The New Jersey complaint from July 23, 2021, alleged that, “[Baffert's] multiple and repeated acts of doping and entering horses into Thoroughbred races, including the Kentucky Derby, constituted racketeering activity.”

In subsequent court documents, the plaintiffs explained why they believed New Jersey should now be the proper venue. They cited a legal precedent that involved a case in which the act of simulcasting a race into New Jersey from another state “permits the Court to exercise personal jurisdiction over it.”

The plaintiffs also alleged that Baffert's purported doping fraud included his occasional starts at Monmouth Park.

But as far back as September 2021, when Baffert first moved for dismissal of this lawsuit, his court filing termed that switch from California to New Jersey “blatant forum shopping” because the new venue has “no meaningful connection to the allegations raised in their Complaint.”

The term “forum shopping” refers to the practice of litigants angling to get their case heard in the court thought most likely to result in a winning outcome. It is not illegal or unethical to forum shop, but judges can and do let parties know if they believe lawyers are stretching legal boundaries by trying to get their cases heard in venues that are most favorable to them.

Another Baffert filing, on Jan. 12, 2022, again alleged that the plaintiffs were off base in attempting to litigate the matter in New Jersey.

“The law is clear that there must be case-specific contacts with the forum state…” that filing stated. “Even if one were to accept Plaintiffs' tinfoil conspiratorial premise that Baffert engaged in a nationwide racketeering scheme to defraud individuals he never met, Plaintiffs would still have to establish that at least some of the alleged illicit conduct actually occurred in New Jersey. They have utterly failed to do so. This matter has zero connection to New Jersey and it must be dismissed.”

Earlier this year, a federal judge in Kentucky dismissed a similar (but entirely separate) class-action lawsuit initiated against Baffert by a group of horseplayers who alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because their losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 Derby also weren't honored as winners.

Baffert's attorney in the New Jersey case, W. Craig Robertson III, made sure the judge in New Jersey was aware of that Kentucky dismissal when considering the motion to dismiss, which is still active and has yet to be ruled upon.

“Identical to this case, the [federal complaint in Kentucky] was commenced by a purported class of aggrieved gamblers against [Baffert] asserting claims connected to pari-mutuel payouts from the 2021 Kentucky Derby,” Robertson wrote in a July 26, 2023, letter to the U. S. District Court of New Jersey.

“The Western District of Kentucky dismissed those claims as a matter of law,” Robertson continued. “Specifically, the Court held that Kentucky's Rules of Racing govern all bets placed on the Kentucky Derby and because the Rules are clear that all payouts are final based on official race-day results, aggrieved gamblers have no injury at law and no viable cause of action even if race results are later altered.

“Similarly here, [Baffert seeks] dismissal of the case before Your Honor due to a lack of cognizable injury, whether under the RICO statute or otherwise,” Baffert's attorney wrote.

Counsel for the plaintiffs responded with their own letter to the judge Aug. 7, writing that the Kentucky decision “has no relevance or merit to the present matter” and that the “causes of action brought by the present Plaintiffs in this action are separate, distinct, and dissimilar from the claims brought by separate parties” in the dismissed Kentucky lawsuit.

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Trainer Lynch Plans Appeal After HIWU Arbitrator Imposes 4-Year Banned Substances Suspension

Natalia Lynch, a Belmont Park-based trainer who has been licensed since 2020, has been penalized with a four-year suspension and a $50,000 fine after a Nov. 9 Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) arbitration judgment found her to be in violation of two separate anti-doping rules, one for the presence of a banned substance (Altrenogest) in a horse, and another for possession of a different prohibited drug (Thyro-L).

Lynch's attorney, John Mac Hayes, told TDN Monday that the trainer plans to appeal the arbitration result to a Federal Trade Commission administrative law judge.

A post-race drug screening revealed Altrenogest in Motion to Strike (Competitive Edge) after Lynch shipped the gelding to Monmouth Park for a June 24 race.

Motion to Strike ran fourth as the 7-10 favorite, and a $5,000 claim was subsequently voided after the HIWU test results came back positive.

Altrenogest is sold under the several brand names, including Regu-Mate. It is used in veterinary medicine to suppress or synchronize estrus in female horses and pigs.

The website of the National Library of Medicine states that Altrenogest is “a commonly used progestogen for the suppression of oestrus and associated distracting behaviors that interfere with training and performance of female racehorses.”

The website also notes that Altrenogest is “structurally similar to the anabolic androgenic steroid.”

However, Matt Hegarty of DRF.com, who was first to report on Lynch's penalties, pointed out a notable coincidence regarding Lynch's Nov. 9 arbitration judgment and a separate document released by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Nov. 13 regarding proposed changes to the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program: The HISA Authority, Hegarty wrote, wants to reclassify Altrenogest as a controlled substance instead of its more severe “banned” status, “with recommended penalties starting at a fine of $500.” (The status change for Altrenogest was just one among numerous proposed rules changes outlined here.)

According to the decision written by arbitrator Bernetta Bush, a retired judge, when a HIWU investigator met Lynch at Belmont on July 20 to notify her of the Altrenogest adverse analytical finding, a search of the vehicle Lynch was driving revealed a container of Thyro-L, which is also banned under the ADMC rules.

Lynch had argued that the Altrenogest positive was cross-contamination as a result of Regu-Mate lawfully being administered to a filly that was supposedly housed in the stall next to Motion to Strike.

As for the Thyro-L, Lynch stated that earlier in the spring, she attempted to discard that newly banned substance by giving it to her mother. Yet she did not realize the drug had remained in her mother's vehicle instead of being thrown away. According to the arbitrator's report, Lynch said she was only driving her mother's vehicle on July 20 because she had lost the keys to her own car.

The arbitrator didn't buy the reasoning in either argument.

“Taken as a whole, Trainer Lynch has presented mere speculation, rather than competent evidence, regarding the source of the Altrenogest,” Bush wrote.

“[T]he uncontested evidence provided by Gregory Pennock, an investigator for the Agency whose testimony the Arbitrator credits as consistent with the record and not disputed with competent evidence, establishes that [the filly] was several–five to seven–stalls away from the Covered Horse, and that [the filly] had not been administered Altrenogest for five days before the day the sample was collected from [Motion to Strike],” Bush wrote.

“The record establishes that Altrenogest is administered orally and would have to be administered directly into the horse's mouth for contamination to occur, and that the amount detected in the sample is consistent with ingestion within 24 hours.”

Bush's ruling continued: “In connection with attempting to skirt liability, Trainer Lynch appears to have made many misrepresentations or inconsistent statements of fact which detract from the overall credibility of her testimony…. More specifically, regarding the Rules, the Arbitrator finds that Trainer Lynch bears significant fault for the presence of Altrenogest. This is not a case of simple negligence.

“Not only has Trainer Lynch failed to show any benign manner in which the substance entered the Covered Horse (a critical failure), but even if she had, Trainer Lynch had (and breached) a clear and unmistakable duty to protect the Covered Horse from any cross-contamination and otherwise comply with the Rules. No evidence presented mitigates the responsibility placed on Trainer Lynch by the Rules she is charged with disobeying.”

Taking up the charge of the Thyro-L, the arbitrator noted that Lynch had argued that her possession was not intentional, that she “wasn't trying to cheat,” and that none of the horses under her care had ever tested positive for that substance.

“Trainer Lynch offers many arguments to escape liability or mitigate the consequences of her unlawful possession, but none are persuasive such that she can carry her burden,” Bush wrote.

Hayes, Lynch's lawyer, classified the arbitrator's penalties as “unreasonably harsh.”

In a series of emailed bullet points, Hayes told TDN that the arbitrator “improperly discounted” expert testimony that was presented in Lynch's defense.

Hayes wrote that the arbitrator allegedly also “ignored the Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure” that have been established by the U.S. Supreme Court and instead “relied on International Law wholly inapplicable in federal court proceedings.”

Hayes also wrote that Regu-Mate is “not a doping agent” and that “no evidence of doping exists.”

Hayes added that the arbitrator allegedly “completely ignored” a different Regu-Mate positive “in a different horse who resided in the same barn where Natalia's horse had stood before racing.”

Hayes further claimed that “HIWU's own expert testified HIWU should have investigated the two positives coming from the same barn to determine if they might be related.”

According to a 2020 profile written by the Monmouth Park press office, Lynch, a Maryland native, had been enrolled in nursing school at Towson University when she started galloping horses a few years ago.

Lynch originally wanted to become a jockey, but switched her aspirations to training, the profile stated. She worked as an assistant to Brittany Russell, Jeremiah Englehart, and Ray Handal prior to getting licensed as a trainer, going out on her own three years ago when owner Al Gold offered to let her train nine horses from his Gold Square, LLC, stable.

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Coming Together For Golovkin

Standing in the first stall on the left in the Clark family's cozy barn at their farm in Springfield, Ky., ears pricked and head on a constant swivel in search of the next treat, Golovkin appears right at home. One would never guess that the 5-year-old gelded son of Mshawish had just shipped from Monmouth Park, nor that he was the center of Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) findings against his racing owner/trainer John Pimental.

The story was first shared by the TDN's T. D. Thornton on Oct. 20, detailing the life-changing ramifications for Pimental and his wife, Diana, stemming from Golovkin testing positive for 193 picograms per milliliter of methamphetamine following his sixth-place finish in a May 29 sprint at Monmouth Park.

A July 28 visit from HIWU agents not only made the Pimentals aware of the meth positive but subsequently revealed Levothyroxine in their truck during a search conducted by the agents, resulting in John facing a three-year period of ineligibility (18 months per violation) and a fine of $25,000 ($12,500 per violation) after agreeing to a “case resolution without hearing.” It was the only option he felt was feasible after being unable to afford hiring a lawyer to contest the HIWU's charges of two violations of “banned substances” under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)'s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program.

But what about Golovkin? Claimed for $5,000 on the day he tested positive, he raced twice more over the next two months for new connections before the ruling against John voided the claim, resulting in the bay gelding's return to the Pimentals' barn. It was just Golovkin and his stablemate, Richard the pony, left in a nearly empty barn on the Monmouth backstretch.

Acknowledging the rule violations and accepting his consequences led to John signing away his licensure, forbidding him from working in any capacity that puts him in contact with HISA-covered horses. Meanwhile, the Pimentals were restricted to visiting and feeding their remaining horses at the track just twice a day until new homes were found for them.

The Pimentals had been having a hard time finding Golovkin a home due to his mandatory 60-day period of inactivity as a result of the positive, until the TDN story came out. That's when bloodstock agent Lauren Carlisle stepped in.

Already in conversation with her friends Radhika Clark, Director of Operations for Morning Line Club; Sarah Thompson, bloodstock agent for Equix; and Hagyard's Dr. Megan Cassidy about rehoming another horse, Carlisle forwarded the article to the group and the wheels were set in motion.

“I read it and I was pretty upset about the circumstances and the way it affected the Pimentals and this horse, in particular. I had copied the article, sent it to the group and I said, “We need to try to help this horse, this is not a good situation,” she recalled.

They immediately leapt into action, sending texts, making calls and replying to tweets to any and all connections that could possibly get them in touch with the Pimentals. Concurrently, Carlisle reached out to Glenn Brok at Brooke Ledge Horse Transportation.

Despite the late hour, Brok called within minutes and Carlisle proceeded to explain the situation. By the next morning, he'd been in touch with Diana and connected her with Carlisle.

The plan was set, Golovkin would be heading to Kentucky.

“The horse couldn't race for 60 days because of the positive and no other trainer wanted to take that horse in, understandably, but it was just a lose-lose situation for everybody. Diana was very thankful and appreciative. She did confirm with me that she wants the horse to be retired and not race again. She was very up front about that,” said Carlisle. “She said that [Golovkin] has been through a lot and she's happy that he's going to have a new home. I texted her when the horse got here and I sent her pictures, so she's been very communicative that way. She's the one that told me how much he likes peppermints and carrots.

Golovkin | Sara Gordon

“I told her, 'Keep my phone number. If you need help with anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out.'”

From the very beginning, Clark and her mother, Sonia, had offered their farm as Golovkin's soft landing. In less than a week after Carlise's initial call with Diana, Brook Ledge had a spot open up in one of their vans and Golovkin was on his way, free of charge thanks to the support of the transportation company.

“I had several people reach out. [Fasig-Tipton's] Jesse Ullery called me the next morning. He'd seen what I'd put on Twitter trying to find their phone number and he wanted to help. Kirsten [Johnson] with KESMARC called and said if the horse needs any sort of rehab, she will help with that. There have been a lot of people that just wanted to help this horse,” said Carlisle. “The whole thing is unfortunate, but it doesn't mean that a horse has to be stuck at a racetrack in a stall.”

Golovkin arrived at the Clarks' farm the morning of Thursday, Oct. 26. After getting a quick bath upon arrival, the gelding settled into his new stall and joined the herd that includes 3-year-old Elegance (Into Mischief), a fellow Off-the-Track-Thoroughbred, and a few other retirees.

“He has a really good personality. As soon as I was in the stall with him, he was super playful. He just wants to play! He came off the trailer without a scratch on him, so you know he traveled well and you can tell he was really well cared for by Diana and John. He's in really great body condition, he looks awesome, so that's a testament to them. They did everything they could for that horse,” said Clark. “Dr. Cassidy looked at him and took some X-rays. There are a couple things we're going to verify and re-check but so far, we're pretty happy with him and we're just going to give him some time to settle in.”

The four industry women that came together initially to bring Golovkin home were all on hand the day after he arrived and the gelding was more than content to soak up all of the attention.

“I'm going to mess with him a bit here and see what he can do. But past that, we'll reach out to some people. If he is eligible for a second career then that's what he's going to do. If he needs to just hang out in a field all day, he's got the field, it's here. Either way he'll have a home and he'll always have a place to come back to if he needs it,” said Clark.

As the gelding now fondly known as 'Go-Go' stood in the aisleway of the barn, a hind foot resting and head low as the farm dogs wandered around him, it's easy to see why he meant so much to the Pimentals, even more so after all they've been dealt this year.

“I understand they're trying to create rules and enforce them, but at the end of the day, now you've got a horse that's pretty much stranded. That's not helping the animal, which is who we're trying to protect. It's a little bit ironic,” said Carlisle. “Radhika and her mom Sonia, they really stepped up in giving him a place to go and not asking any questions about it. Megan is going to come back out to do another physical on the horse and she's offering her time at no charge. These are the people that need to be recognized.”

Thornton followed up with the Pimentals, in a TDN story published Oct. 25, revealing that Alan Foreman, an attorney who is the chairman and chief executive of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, is handling their defense and has managed to get John's signed admission withdrawn so the case can proceed to a hearing.

Meanwhile, the pony Richard is heading to Tampa Bay Downs this winter with trainer Gerald Bennett. The Pimentals will be making their way to Florida as well, where Diana has a job in the Tampa Bay racing office for the upcoming meet.

“We are all working against each other here and there's a lot of competition in our industry with people wanting to win races and just be better, but when the time comes that somebody needs help or a horse needs help, it's not even a question. Everybody chips in to help. That's just a testament to the people that work in this industry,” said Carlisle.

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Pimentals, Overwhelmed by Support, Get Help to Proceed to HIWU Hearing

The ruled-off trainer John Pimental said Wednesday that he and his wife, Diana, have been “blown away” by the support and offers of assistance they have received in the five days since a TDN story highlighted the life-altering ramifications of John's signing an “admission of rule violations” and “acceptance of consequences” document to settle Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) allegations stemming from a methamphetamine positive in one of his Monmouth Park trainees.

While being served notice on July 28 of the meth positive, HIWU agents conducted a Monmouth barn and vehicle search of the Pimentals' property, which turned up Levothyroxine. That meant John was charged with two violations of “banned substances” under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)'s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program.

Under the terms of the “case resolution without hearing” that he initially agreed to, John faced a three-year period of ineligibility (18 months per violation) and a fine of $25,000 ($12,500 per violation).

In a series of interviews that led to last week's story, John, 68, and Diana, 65, had detailed to TDN the financial, logistical, and health-related hardships they have endured over the past three months as John attempted to find new work outside of the backstretch.

Working with racehorses has been the only way the couple has known how to make a living for the past 50 years, and John's record on the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) website shows only one previous published violation, a $100 fine from 2015 for not having a foal certificate on file.

The Pimentals also explained how it's been difficult to process the allegedly draconian penalizations that John said he accepted only because he didn't have the money to hire a lawyer to contest the HIWU charges.

The outpouring of support has included offers of financial assistance to fight their case; offers of pro-bono help from a trio of attorneys who specialize in defending horsemen, and offers to re-home the 5-year-old gelding Golovkin (Mshawish), the last remaining racehorse in their stable after eight others owned by a longstanding client got shipped to a different trainer at Delaware Park when John was first provisionally suspended.

The Pimentals told TDN Oct. 25 they are respectfully declining the offers of financial assistance.

But Golovkin vanned out of the Monmouth backstretch on Wednesday at noon, bound for a new home in Kentucky and a to-be-determined second career.

And the Pimentals also said they are considering the offers of free legal help, although at the moment they are content to allow Alan Foreman, an attorney who is the chairman and chief executive of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (THA), to handle their defense.

Foreman recently agreed to work as an ombudsman on behalf of racing industry constituents needing a go-between to deal with HIWU and HISA, and he has thus far managed to get John's signed admission withdrawn so the case can proceed to a hearing.

“People were concerned. That was good to hear,” John said. “There were a bunch of people who offered financial assistance or to set up a GoFundMe for us, but we thanked them and said we don't need any of that.”

Added Diana, who has helped John run his stable and his gate-ponying business since the two were teenagers, “We've been overwhelmed by people calling to want to help us. My phone's practically exploded.”

Next steps

In the original TDN story about his penalization, John alleged that the 193 picograms-per-milliliter meth positive in Golovkin on May 29 was the result of environmental contamination. He also claimed the container of Levothyroxine found in his truck had been used solely on a 17-year-old pony nicknamed Richard, and not on any racehorses under his care.

Lisa Lazarus, the chief executive officer for the HISA Authority, wrote in a letter published in TDN Oct. 24 that “the article implied that HISA and HIWU are devoid of concern for regular horsemen, are looking to wipe out smaller training operations, and are ignorant to endemic drug use on the backstretch of many racetracks. None of those are true.”

At a different point in her letter, Lazarus pointed out that when drug-testing samples do come up positive, “everyone is treated exactly the same way.” She also wrote that there is “no longer any space for 'he's a good guy'” types of arguments that, under pre-HISA testing protocols, might have reduced penalties or even kept sanctions from being imposed in the first place.

“But the non-discriminatory aspect of the program is sometimes also the worst thing about it,” Lazarus wrote. “Because every positive test is attached to a person. And every person has a story. And some of those stories can be heartbreaking.”

On Wednesday, Lazarus confirmed via email that now that John's withdrawal of admission has been accepted, his notice of sanctions has also been withdrawn by HIWU, and that his provisional suspension has been re-imposed back to where it was before John signed the admission.

Lazarus added that, “If Mr. Pimental is able to work with Alan Foreman to collect information that helps his case, HIWU has the discretion to lift the Provisional Suspension. We will also give Mr. Pimental an opportunity to request and qualify for a Pro Bono lawyer.”

Lazarus said the matter has already been re-initiated before the arbitral body. She estimated “60 days from start to finish” as a ballpark timetable for how long it might take to resolve the matter.

Foreman briefed TDN on the next steps in the case, although he said he preferred to stick to a general synopsis so as not to give away elements of John's defense.

“They are back now to square one,” Foreman said. “I am gathering the facts as any attorney in my capacity would do, and I am putting together a presentation from Mr. Pimental to HIWU in an effort to resolve this case and get him restored to good standing.

“He's requested a hearing, and under the rules, that hearing would be scheduled on a rather expedited basis,” Foreman said. “So my goal is to get this resolved as quickly as possible. The ball is really in our court to provide the information to HIWU [to bring about] an opportunity for a negotiated resolution of the case [and to avoid] arbitration. Because arbitration is expensive, and I don't think it's necessary in this case.”

New home for 'Go-Go'

Golovkin had been claimed for $5,000 on the day he tested positive while finishing last. In the two-month interim that he raced twice for different connections, the gelding again ran last two more times.

The ruling against John voided that claim, so the Pimentals (who owned him) had to take Golovkin back. Given the gelding's recent record, and the fact that he had to sit out a mandated 60-day period of inactivity because of the meth positive, they were having trouble finding anyone at Monmouth who wanted to buy or adopt him.

That changed once the Pimentals' story came out.

“We got a lot of offers,” Diana said of the dark bay with the handsome, half-blazed face. “He's not going to race again. All we want for him is to be able to get out into a field and run and 'be like a horse' again. He'll make somebody else very happy. That's all we want, and it's what he deserves after what he's been through.”

Lauren Carlisle headed the team that included fellow bloodstock businesspeople Radhika Clark and Sarah Thompson, plus Dr. Megan Cassidy of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, to reach out to the Pimentals about taking in Golovkin.

“I read the article and just felt terrible for the situation,” Carlisle said. “They were quoted as saying that the horse had nowhere to go. So we really wanted to fix that as quickly as possible. And a big shout-out to Brook Ledge [Horse Transportation], who is moving him at no charge–a very good deed on their part.

“For now he's going to Radhika's family's farm in Kentucky,” Carlisle continued. “And then Dr. Cassidy is going to do a full exam on him with X-rays, and make sure that everything is good for him to be training for a new career. We'll find him a permanent home after we do all that. So this is basically a kind of landing spot him until we can figure it out.”

Golovkin, who shares a hard-to-pronounce name with the champion boxer Gennadiy Golovkin, already has a new nickname: “We've been calling him 'Go-Go' in our group chat,” Carlisle said.

Richard the pony also will be getting a new home–at least temporarily.

Diana told TDN that the pony, who teamed with John both in escorting horses to the gate and in John's former stints as an outrider, was initially slated to be sold. But trainer Gerald Bennett has agreed to instead take in Richard at Tampa Bay Downs this winter, with the understanding that if John wants him back at some point, he's welcome to have him.

“If things work out with John, maybe he can come back [to Monmouth next season] and outride,” Diana explained. “That's what we're hoping. If things turn around, we really would like to have a good pony that knows his job.”

The Pimentals are on their way to Tampa soon, too. Diana has a job in the racing office there for the upcoming meet, and her doctor has just cleared her to travel after needing to first make sure new medication is working to control the high blood pressure that Diana said she developed during this ordeal.

The couple underscored that they wanted to express gratitude toward everyone who has offered help or had a kind word about their situation.

“There's so many great people out there. You don't even know it until something like this happens to you,” Diana said.

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