OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Leah Gyarmati thought about walking away. But the allure of the racetrack and the continued desire to make her mentor – the late Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens – proud wouldn’t let her. Thus, more than 19 months after voluntarily surrendering her New York trainer’s license, Gyarmati is back training. When she saddles Winegold in Friday’s second race at Aqueduct, a $50,000 maiden-claiming race on the turf, Gyarmati will be starting her first horse since Feb. 11, 2024, and resuming her 25-year training career. Gyarmati, 61, thought about further advancing her education and using her degrees in philosophy and theology to explore opportunities in those fields. But the racetrack called her back. “I think the bottom line is probably I don’t like to admit defeat,” said Gyarmati, who worked as an exercise rider for Jerkens, who died in 2015, and then rode in races before starting to train horses in 1999. “Walking away, even if I were to become incredibly successful, would be defeat – willing defeat. The Chief” – Jerkens’s nickname – “is watching and I know what he would say, and it’s definitely not to give up.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. On March 1, 2024, Gyarmati voluntarily surrendered her trainer’s license to the state and had her Belmont Park stalls revoked by the New York Racing Association. Gyarmati had been accused by a NYRA safety steward of neglecting an injured horse. Additionally, Gyarmati had failed a Breathalyzer test after she was awakened one day by NYRA security when found in her truck, which was parked by the Belmont Park training track following training hours. Gyarmati has denied the accusation that she neglected her horse. Prompted by some racetrack friends, Gyarmati enrolled and completed a 28-day substance abuse program in the spring of 2024. She still attends, and sometime chairs, meetings at Alcoholics Anonymous. “I am very happy with where I am personally. The whole experience has been a real lesson for me in a lot of things,” Gyarmati said. “The way they make you look at your life and your decisions and your feelings and your reactions and the way you see the world is useful for everything that happens in your life, whether it’s personal relationship or business decisions.” It took longer than Gyarmati expected to get back on the racetrack. She returned in February and began ponying horses and then got on horses for trainer Mitch Friedman. She also got on horses for other trainers, and being around them inspired Gyarmati to want to train again. Winegold is owned by Jeanne Liddy, for whom Gyarmati previously trained. Gyarmati also trains a 2-year-old filly – City War, by Improbable – for another previous client, Pierre Babb. There is a 2-year-old colt by Bustin Stones out of the dam Brass Ring, a filly Gyarmati trained, who will soon join her barn. Gyarmati bred that colt. Winegold, who previously raced for Kenny McPeek and Friedman, is competing at a higher level than he has previously. “He was a bit of a nervous horse, and now he’s settled down a lot,” Gyarmati said. “He doesn’t broadcast to you in terms of ‘Wow, this horse can really run’ or ‘This horse can’t run.’ He just does it all very medium. You just have to try.” Gyarmati said she hopes to be able to expand her stable to around 12 to 20 horses, which is what she had when she was doing well with the likes of Grade 1 winner Sweet Reason and stakes winners Noble Winner, Wonder Gal, Sail By, and Kept True. “I only want to do it if it’s in such a way that I can do it the right way and do it in a way that’s healthy for the horse and healthy for me,” Gyarmati said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.