Restoring Hope (foaled May 5, 2015) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse who competed in the

2018 Belmont Stakes The 2018 Belmont Stakes was the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes and the 107th time the event took place at Belmont Park. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final leg in the American Triple Crown. It is a Grade I stake ...

. He first garnered attention when he won a race at Santa Anita. Restoring Hope became a subject of debate after competitors in the 2018 Belmont Stakes accused him of blocking other horses in order to help his stablemate, Justify, who went on to win the Triple Crown. Restoring Hope was trained by Bob Baffert, who also trained Justify.

Mike Repole Mike Repole (born January 21, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and racehorse owner. He is best known for co-founding Glaceau (maker of Vitaminwater), which sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion, and BODYARMOR SuperDrink, a spo ...

, who owned two other horses in the race, said "We watched Restoring Hope rush up like he was a quarter horse, make a quick right-hand turn, then turn left, pinned Bravazo on the rail. He looked like a bodyguard making sure nobody got close to Justify." After the Belmont Stakes, Restoring Hope did not race for half a year, until resurfacing for new trainer

Jason Servis Jason J. Servis (born April 2, 1957) is an American trainer of thoroughbred racehorses and a convicted felon. A multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, Servis is best known for having trained Maximum Security, who finished first in the 2019 K ...

. After Servis' indictment, he was moved to W. Bret Calhoun's barn, for whom he made two starts after ten months away from the track. After another ten months without any races, he then raced once for

Wayne M. Catalano Wayne M. Catalano (born July 24, 1956 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former jockey and current horse trainer, trainer in United States, American Thoroughbred horse racing who has won four Breeders' Cup World Championship races and trained two Ecl ...

, was moved to

Kelly J. Breen Kelly John Breen (born May 13, 1969, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey) is a trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Breen has been a resident of Howell, New Jersey and Boynton Beach, FL. As a New Jersey native, he operat ...

's barn and finally to Ron Moquett. A few starts later, he was claimed for $10,000 by trainer John Haran. As of June 2023, he has been racing for a $5,000 tag at Hawthorne.

References

Racehorses trained in the United States 2015 racehorse births {{racehorse-stub