Sports

Bettor sues harness-racing trainer for loss linked to doping

07 of March 2018

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2013, file photo, letters spell out Meadowlands over top the new grandstand at the race track in East Rutherford, N.J. The CEO of Meadowlands, Jeff Gural, has been among the leaders in harness racing in trying to curb doping. Meadowlands revealed that Tag Up and Go had tested positive for EPO in 2016. The Tag Up and Go doping case emerged through one of his initiatives, establishing "out of competition" drug testing, which means horses can be subject to testing at any time, on the track or off. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File),FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2013, file photo, letters spell out Meadowlands over top the new grandstand at the race track in East Rutherford, N.J. The CEO of Meadowlands, Jeff Gural, has been among the leaders in harness racing in trying to curb doping. Meadowlands revealed that Tag Up and Go had tested positive for EPO in 2016. The Tag Up and Go doping case emerged through one of his initiatives, establishing "out of competition" drug testing, which means horses can be subject to testing at any time, on the track or off. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

An aggrieved harness-racing bettor is seeking to recoup more than $31,000 in losses in an unusual lawsuit alleging racketeering and fraud on the part of the trainer whose horse outraced the bettor's picks but later was found to have been illegally doped. Leading figures in harness racing say they've never heard of such a lawsuit before. The general practice is to reallocate the purse to other owners if a winning horse is later proven to have been doped, but not to recompense bettors.

NEW YORK (AP) — An aggrieved harness-racing bettor has gone to court to recoup more than $31,000 in winnings he said he was cheated out of when a doped horse won a race in New Jersey two years ago.

Leading figures in harness racing said they had never before heard of such a lawsuit, which accuses the trainer of fraud and racketeering.

The general practice is to reallocate the purse to other owners if a winning horse is later proven to have been doped, but not to pay back bettors.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.

It represents an effort by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to open the gates for more litigation by bettors, which the animal rights group hopes would dramatically curtail illegal horse doping.