NEW YORK – The Latest on a federal court lawsuit by an aggrieved harness-racing bettor (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
The lawyer for a harness-racing trainer accused in a horse doping lawsuit says if it isn't retracted he'll consider filing a libel suit.
A suit was filed in federal court Wednesday by a bettor seeking to recoup more than $31,000 in winnings he says he was cheated out of when a doped horse won a race in New Jersey in 2016.
The lawyer for trainer Robert Bresnahan Jr., Howard Taylor, says the drug testing involving the horse has no official standing in the U.S. legal system because it was conducted at a lab in Hong Kong.
Taylor says he'll contact the New Jersey law office representing bettor Jeffrey Tretter, demanding that it retract the lawsuit and apologize to Bresnahan.
If that doesn't happen he says they'll consider filing a libel lawsuit.
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11:32 a.m.
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.
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