03x75 - Hidden Horse Injuries

[bunniefuu]

She picked up the horse,
didn't pay anybody

and within days or a week,

called you and said,
"This horse is injured, I don't want it."

Yes.

Because you knew she was having the vet
come out to look at the horse

to make sure that the horse was okay.

-Uh, come up with an answer.
-Yeah.

Yeah! Before she bought it!

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Paul Cole is suing
his customer, Paula Capestro,

for the cost of a racehorse
and lost earnings.

[Kevin]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

-Case 3118, Cole versus Capestro.
-Thank you.

[Kevin] You're welcome.

Mr. Cole, the case is relatively simple.
You claim that the defendant owes you

for a horse that you sold to her.
The defendant is counterclaiming

for the money she expended
taking care of the horse,

which she said you abandoned.

And the sale for the horse
was never concluded.

-Correct?
-Correct.

[Judy] Okay. Let me get some
background information from you, Mr. Cole.

You were not originally
in the horse business?

-Nope.
-"Nope" is not an answer.

"Nope" you say to a friend.
Here, "no." The answer is "no."

And your business, according
to what I read in your complaint,

was racetrack.

One of my businesses
is owning a dirt racetrack, yes.

When did you develop
an interest in horses?

Probably about 25 years ago.
I've been friends with our trainer.

And I've been around the horse track
for my whole life.

My family and I decided it would be
a good leisure activity for us, and, uh...

[Judy] When did you decide
to purchase your first horse?

We bought our first horse
May 23rd of 2023.

And I assume, then, you relied
on your friend and witness

-to help you make that purchase.
-[Paul] Yes, Your Honor.

[Judy]
What was the name of that first horse?

Hangar-One.

So, the first horse that you purchased
was the horse in question.

[Paul]
Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And where were you going to keep him?

The racetrack offers stables
for the horses that race there,

at no charge.
And it's maintained by the trainer.

He takes care of the feed, the...

We pay him a day rate
to take care of the horse.

-[Judy] Your trainer.
-The trainer, correct.

-[Judy] This gentleman.
-[Paul] Correct.

Okay. I didn't understand a word
that you used in your complaint, sir.

You said, "My friend suggested
I buy a couple of horses."

-I assume that this is your friend.
-[Paul] Yes, ma'am.

"We went to a claiming race,
and I claimed a thoroughbred

named Hangar-One."
Tell me what a claiming race is, sir.

So, what a claiming race is,
the horses race for a price.

And any horse in that race
can be purchased

by a licensed owner by putting
a claim sheet in before the race starts.

So, ten minutes before the race starts,

you have to put the money up
to purchase that horse.

In this case, the horse was in for $5,000.

-The horse was in the race.
-Right.

Any horse in that race
could be purchased for $5,000.

[Judy]
So, it was a fixed price, $5,000.

And you purchased Hangar-One
on the 23rd of May, 2023.

You claimed that... You call it claiming.
You paid $5,000 for the horse.

Since the horse stays at the racetrack,
and is run regularly...

How regularly?

About every two to three weeks.

[Judy] Now, you bought it on May 23rd,
which means it raced on May 23rd.

Correct.

And when was the horse's next race?

I believe it was June third.

-[Judy] Did it win?
-[Paul] It did not.

-[Judy] When did it race again?
-June 23rd.

-[Judy] Did it win?
-[Paul] It did not.

[Judy]
When did it race again?

Uh, July fourth.

-[Judy] Did it win?
-It did not.

When did it race again?

I believe it was July 18th.

-[Judy] Did it win?
-It finished third.

[Judy]
The answer is it did not win.

Next time it raced?

It was scheduled to race on August first.
Our trainer noticed

that he had inflamed tendon sheath,
which is kinda like tennis elbow.

And we planned to scratch him that day

so he'd have time to rest
before we raced him again.

-And he never raced again for you.
-He did not.

[Judy] That's when you decided that this
was not a horse that you wanted to keep.

[Paul]
We were planning on keeping him.

The offer came in discussions
between our trainer and the defendant

discussing taking the horse
and moving into the show world.

So, so far, you've had this horse
and you never saw it win a race.

[Paul]
Correct.

[Judy]
And then you decided to sell it.

You know, the opportunity to give
the horse a life in the show world,

with getting our money out,
seemed like a reasonable...

-[Judy] Mr. Cole.
-[Paul] Yep.

I'm not a stupid woman.
You don't sell something you want.

You sell something
if you're disappointed in it.

So, so far, you've kept the horse
from May until August.

You know, if you tell the truth,
you don't have to have a good memory.

I want you to pay attention
to that phrase.

Okay. How much money do you make a day?

Sixty dollars per horse.

[Judy] How many horses
do you take care of?

Right now, uh, I got two.

You want to tell me how you got involved
with these two people?

My husband says it was very dumb of me.

Okay. Well, you never knew him,
according to what I read.

I never knew Paul Cole.
I did know Jimmy Pettine.

Jimmy's father approached me and asked me

to call him and teach him
about the new HISA rules.

H-I-S-A rules, which is
the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

Which is new. It was started in
about July a year ago.

I did so. Jimmy said he was doing well.

-This is Jimmy.
-[Paula] The trainer.

[Judy]
Just a second. Stand up. Move over.

Do you remember that conversation, Jimmy?

Yes.

[Judy] And do you remember what date
that conversation was?

Not exactly.

[Judy]
Do you remember when that was?

Probably around July. July, sometime.

So, you told him to watch his back,
be careful, there's a new sheriff in town.

[Paula]
Absolutely.

So then, he showed me a horse,
a picture of which is right here.

What's your business, by the way?

I'm a bloodstock agent
and a horse trainer.

How long have you been doing that?

Thirty years.

So, this is a picture of the horse.
Pretty horse.

-[Paula] Gorgeous.
-[Judy] Okay. And that's Hangar-One.

-[Paula] That's Hangar-One, yes.
-[Judy] Keep going.

So, he shows me the photo of the horse
and says, "What do you think?

Do you think this horse will make it
in the show ring?"

And I said, "Absolutely, he's gorgeous."

Just a second.
You remember that conversation?

"You think the horse will make it
in the show ring?"

Yes.

[Judy]
Was this conversation in person?

Uh, it was on the phone.

[Judy]
How did you get the picture?

-He texted it to me.
-[Judy] Correct?

Yes.

Okay. Now, at that time, Jimmy,

at that time, you were working
for Mr. Cole.

Yes.

We're gonna get to independent thought.

If your trainer had told you
on May 23rd

that the horse had had a broken leg

in the past, would you have bought it?

-Yes.
-Baloney.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Paul Cole
claims his customer, Paula Capestro,

refuses to pay for the racehorse
she purchased.

Paula is countersuing
for the cost of caring for the horse.

Right now, you helped him select
Hangar-One

back in May. Is that correct?

Yes.

[Judy]
And Hangar-One was underperforming.

Yes.

And you also noticed,
prior to this conversation,

that the horse had sort of swollen ankles?

Yes.

[Judy] And I want you to be very careful
with this answer...

You discussed the swollen ankles
with Mr. Cole.

Yes.

[Judy] Did you discuss with him
selling the horse?

Yes.

[Judy] Prior to your conversation
with the defendant?

-[Jimmy] No.
-[Judy] When?

Shortly thereafter, I had talked to Paula.

Well, why would you ask her
if she were interested

and text her a picture of this horse
if your boss hadn't told you

that he was looking
to get rid of the horse?

Uh, come up with an answer, Jimmy.
Don't speak, Cole.

Come up with an answer, Jimmy.
You're an employee.

You told him to buy the horse.
The horse underperformed

and then had swollen ankles,
which you saw.

One swollen ankle.

[Judy] Is that the same swollen ankle
where it had a broken ankle?

Is that the same ankle?

I never knew the
horse to have a broken ankle, ma'am.

-But now you know.
-[Jimmy] I do now.

Now you know, so
I'm asking you a question.

Was that the same ankle?

I'm not 100% certain.

Are you 90% certain?

-No.
-Has anyone told you since,

Jimmy, that the horse
had a broken ankle

at some point in its life?

I'm not 100% certain
which ankle was broken.

The tendon sheath was on the left front.

So now, just serendipitously,
you're speaking to this person

who was a friend of your father's,
and who you knew,

and ask her, "Do you think it would be
a nice show horse?"

So now, we're gonna get back
to your case.

It is your claim, Mr. Cole,
that there was a contract

for the sale of this horse for $5,000.

That the defendant, Miss Capestro,
picked up the horse,

didn't pay anybody the $5,000,
and within days or a week,

called you and said,
"This horse is injured, I don't want it."

You say the sale was concluded.
She owes you the $5,000 for the horse.

That's your case. It is the defendant's
position that she picked up the horse

to have a look-see at it
before she paid $5,000,

which is why she didn't pay $5,000.

When she picked up the horse,
she didn't give you $5,000, did she?

-No.
-[Judy] Didn't give you $5,000, did she?

She just picked up the horse,
which you gave her.

Were you there when
she picked up the horse?

Yes.

[chuckles] All you have to do
is tell the truth,

then you don't have to have a good memory.
Do you understand?

So, you were there
when she picked up the horse.

Did you ask her for the $5,000?
That's a question.

Did you ask her for the $5,000?

No.

[Judy]
Now, that was on the second of August.

Did you tell Mr. Cole
that the horse had been picked up?

Yes.

-[Judy] And what did he say to you?
-Good.

Good. Did he say to you,
"Where's my money?"

The answer is yes or no.

-Not at that moment.
-[Judy] No. No.

When did you ascertain
that the defendant

was not happy with the horse?

[Jimmy]
I believe it was the following Friday.

They had the vets come out, I guess,
to look at the horses.

Jimmy, did you say to her,
"What do I care

about whether the vet's coming
to look at the horse or not?

-Where's Mr. Cole's money?"
-No, I didn't say that.

No, because you knew she was having
the vet come out to look at the horse

to make sure that the horse was okay.

Yeah.

Yeah. Before she bought it.

The reason why she was having
the horse vetted out

was because they're worth a lot more money
in the show world

if the horse has a vet clearance
saying that, um,

that she could possibly make six figures
with the horse.

Maybe it would turn into
the most substantial horse in the world.

What did that have to do
with Mr. Cole's money?

She wasn't gonna give him any more money
if the vet came out and said,

"Oh, this is some bargain for $5,000."
She wasn't gonna say, "Listen,

I'll give you $50,000 for the horse."

No, we wanted $5,000
which is what we paid for it.

And she thought she... She thought
she'd get out on the horse no matter what.

But if the horse did vet out, it was gonna
be definitely a bigger payoff for her.

[Judy] Okay. I don't think so.
Anyway, now you have to prove to me,

Mr. Cole, that there was a completed sale.

Because I'm, you know,
certain things are common sense.

This is a copy of the letter
that they sent to her

indicating that we delivered the horse.
She indicated...

No, no, no, no. Before you sent her
a letter demanding your money,

I want to see a completed contract.

-It can be a contract...
-It was a verbal contract.

Show me the texts
that complete the contract.

Because right now, right now, Mr. Cole,
I want to tell you what I see.

I see somebody picking up an animal
and having it checked out by the vet.

Nothing was done, and she agreed
to pay the $5,000 for the horse,

if the horse checked out.

-Once...
-[Judy] Just a second.

I don't want to see your statements to her
that you owe me money.

I want to see when she bought the horse,
text messages.

That's what I have right here,
Your Honor.

[Judy]
I want to take a look...

On Wednesday, July 26th, she
starts a conversation back and forth...

Just a second.
I'm gonna look at it.

On August fourth, you wrote,
"Paul Cole: Please send him the money

so I don't have to deal
with this anymore."

She responds, "Sorry, Paul,
but your horse has a lot of issues.

It's going to take six months rehab before
we can give him away to a nice home."

"Jimmy, your horse
has all kinds of problems.

This is why we always vet them.
Has to be done.

I'm sending the report now."
That's what she wrote to you.

Mr. Cole, would you
have purchased this horse

if you knew that it had a broken leg
when you were going to race it?

-The answer is either yes or no.
-Yes.

Would you have purchased...

It did not have a broken leg
when it was racing.

[Judy] Just a second. If your trainer
had told you on May 23rd

that the horse had had a broken leg
in the past, would you have bought it?

Yes.

Baloney!

Because it also gets confirmed
by the state vet and the track vet.

Not just his word.

I'm just gonna look and see whether or not
the horse had a broken leg.

There was no way for us to know
until after...

Well... that would not be her problem.

Can I see the vet's report, please?

Both of these.

-Your Honor, there's two reports...
-Shh!

Oh, this has a report,
study date, August third.

This was the day after you got him.

That's correct, Your Honor.

So, the horse broke his leg
on June seventh of 2022.

Which leg?

Same one. Left front.

You didn't buy the horse sight-unseen.
You relied on your trainer

to tell you that a state vet
was gonna look at the horse.

And if that horse
didn't pass state inspection,

-you could void the sale.
-Correct.

That's exactly what she did.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Paul Cole
has accused his customer,

Paula Capestro, of refusing to pay
for the racehorse she purchased.

Paul is countersuing, claiming Paul
knowingly sold her an injured horse.

Where's the horse now?

The horse is in the possession of...

And how did that happen?

She was the one that had the horse when
he originally fractured his ankle in 2022.

I contacted her and that's when I learned

that it had been the same ankle
that had fractured again now, in 2023.

So, you gave the horse
back to that person?

She's a good caretaker.

[Judy]
Just a second. I'm asking you a question.

[Paula]
Yes, I sent it back.

-[Judy] For nothing?
-Nothing.

Do you know who you bought the horse from?

The owner was...
Who we claimed the horse from in the race.

It was the trainer.

So, you got it from her
who had been racing the horse.

-Correct.
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy] Now, when you told Mr. Cole
to buy the horse,

did she tell you that the horse
had broken its ankle?

-Nobody. We didn't know.
-[Judy laughs]

We never knew until the vet report
that she signed.

[Judy] Well, let me
ask you this question, Mr. Cole.

If you knew then what you know now,
would you have purchased the horse?

No.

[Judy]
The answer is no.

Wouldn't it have been a good idea,
Mr. Trainer,

to tell Mr. Cole, "Listen,
it looks like a nice horse,

but we really should
get it examined before"?

You can't do that.

[Judy] You can't when you claim a horse.

-Right.
-[Judy] As far as the horse is concerned,

the horse never won a race that you saw.

-Right.
-[Judy] Okay.

When you purchase a horse like this,

you took it to the vet the very next day
that you picked it up.

Correct.

[Judy] When did you tell Jimmy
that you weren't purchasing this horse?

Two days, three days later.
I sent a text.

[Judy]
And what did the text say?

It was a copy of the text
I sent to Mr. Cole.

[Judy]
Which said what?

"I can't buy your horse;
he's got a lot of problems.

It's a good thing he quit racing."

And so, you sent that to Mr. Cole?

Yes.

[Judy] And what did Mr. Cole say
to you in response?

"You put it in the trailer, you own it."

Now, I'll see your letter.

So, I never had any conversation
or texts back and forth with her.

I sent her this letter as
the first communication I had with her.

At which time, I demanded...
I was seeking payment.

Her response is written at the bottom.

She said to you, in her answer,
and you said, "I demand my money,"

and she said, "Hangar-One did not pass
the vet exam and I opted out of the sale.

This was disclosed to Jimmy,
along with the vet report.

Jimmy was coming to pick up the horse
or leave him as a give-away horse."

Did you answer her?

I did. We started with a long list of
texts back and forth that you should have.

-Oh, okay. So, it comes in here.
-[Paul] Correct.

Well, so, it was your position

that the minute she took possession
of the horse, it became hers.

These were the agreements that Jimmy
and her had come together with.

It would be stupid. The fact
that you were stupid and claimed a horse

for $5,000, that had had a broken leg,

that could've been found out
if you had the horse checked out.

You chose to do that. You chose,
instead of spending maybe $15,000

for a horse, to pay five, sight-unseen.

For a little clarity,
when you claim a horse,

the state vet, afterwards,
vets the horse out after the race.

If the horse does not pass,
you can void the claim, at that point.

[Judy] Oh. So, what you're saying to me
is, you didn't buy the horse sight-unseen.

You relied on your trainer to tell you

that a state vet
was gonna look at the horse.

And if that horse
didn't pass state inspection,

-you could void the sale.
-[Paul] Correct.

-That's exactly what she did.
-Except she didn't bring the horse back.

[Judy] You wouldn't take the horse back.

She never offered
to bring the horse back.

-She told us to come pick it up.
-[Judy] Oh, well, that's the same thing.

And you said, "No, this is a sale,
it's finished."

So, she did the same thing
that you did.

So, my problem with you, madam,
quite frankly is,

that you gave the horse back to her.
Because you have a counterclaim.

And your counterclaim is the money
that you spent taking care of the horse.

-Correct?
-Correct.

[Judy] Well, you're not gonna get it.
He's not getting his money.

But I think it was terrible judgment,
knowing what you knew...

Because he didn't know...
I believe Mr. Cole.

-So, you're not getting the money.
-Okay.

But I do believe that when
you buy a horse, like you did,

even claiming it, it has to pass
a vet's inspection.

This vet said it passed inspection.

It clearly was a smell test
because the horse had a broken leg.

Had had a broken leg.

Had a broken leg,
but not currently had a broken leg.

-Okay. Okay.
-It was cleared to run.

[Judy] I'm gonna leave you two people
exactly where I found you.

This was a really, very interesting
educational process for me.

But I think she took the horse
with the intention

of having a vet check it out. It didn't.
She told you to come and get it.

And you didn't.
So you don't get your money.

So, you'll eat the expenses
that you incurred with the vet

and everything else
with regard to the horse.

-I...
-[Judy] We're done.

Your claim and counterclaim
are both dismissed. We're done.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

She's given it away to somebody else
and we're going home empty handed.

And uh, I'm very disappointed.

I think the judge's decision
was very fair.

Just because it had an old injury,

doesn't mean it's still not
a good racehorse.

I do know the previous owner
was very conscientious

in healing the horse the first time.

In this case, we look more out
for the horse and give it an opportunity

to be in the show world,
than we did worrying about the money.

No, it's the best interest of the animal.

I learned a lot about a field that
I knew very little about before today

-and reading the case.
-Me, too.

But I think that the horse
would've been better off

just in a nice pasture,
enjoying its days.

But I think that giving it
back to the original owner

probably wasn't the right thing to do.

You know, my original sympathies
were totally with the defendant.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] But she was a pro.

I think that they both deserve each other.

-She had just nicer frosting.
-[laughs]

[narrator]
Are you a victim of a scam?



[theme music playing]