'A Lil' Alimony' Pays Off for Divorcees

ByABC News
January 13, 2005, 8:24 AM

Jan. 23, 2005 — -- Unlucky in love. Lucky at the track.

Five Fresno, Calif.-area divorcées have discovered "A Lil' Alimony," and they're riding her all the way to the bank.

A Lil' Alimony is a horse, and the women have dubbed themselves the First Wives Club Syndicate. Each of the middle-aged club members owns a piece of the 3-year-old filly. They share the ongoing costs of keeping and racing a Thoroughbred.

"Every child wants to own a pony, and now I do," said one of the women, Rhonda Simpson. "She loves to run."

The women follow two rules in their club -- no men allowed, and, as club member Carol Lingenfelter said, "You have to be divorced, at least one time."

"Multiple divorces are acceptable," she added. "Live-in boyfriends are acceptable. And if you are married presently, that's OK as well."

Fun also is part of the bylaws, starting with the logo on their racing silks -- a harvest moon with five witches sharing the same broom.

"We all thought it was really funny," club member Kathi Cardoza said. "But we had no idea everybody else was going to, too. It's really been a lot of fun."

From rhinestone glasses for reading racing sheets, to road trips to California's racetracks, this is a potent sisterhood with style.

"Actually, I really enjoy the track itself," club member Kathy Packett said. "I'd never been to a track so it's like new to me."

A Lil' Alimony shuns the glitter but loves to run. Last November, A Lil' Alimony won her first race, at the San Francisco Bay area's Golden Gate Fields, wearing No. 1 and running in the initial race of the day.

"No matter how well or how bad she does, I think it's just been a lot of fun for us," club member Sandy Tavares said. "Maybe not a lot of men will bet on her, but the women will."

Nancy Osborne originally reported this story for the ABC-owned station KFSN-TV in Fresno, Calif.