Kentucky racing officials have denied Maria Borell’s attempt to regain her Thoroughbred training license in the state, nearly a decade after her fall from grace following a Breeders’ Cup victory and subsequent animal cruelty charges.
The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation (KHRGC)’s license review committee indicated Tuesday they would reject Borell’s application if she didn’t withdraw it. Her attorney, Karen Murphy, immediately withdrew the request to avoid a formal denial on Borell’s record.
“Maria is heartbroken,” Murphy told TDN in a phone interview after the hearing. “We withdrew [the application], which means we do not have to face the rabbit hole of a denial, where we’d have to go through all sorts of appeals and exhaustion of administrative remedy.”
Murphy expressed frustration that Kentucky officials wouldn’t recognize Borell’s legal victories, including the dismissal with prejudice of all charges and an expungement from her record in July 2023.
“An expungement means that the court has treated the matter as if it never happened,” Murphy said. “That is a legal principle that is applied everywhere in the United States of America, and it [doesn’t exclude] racing.”
Borell, 42, had recently secured a trainer’s license in California, bolstering hopes for her Kentucky reinstatement. Murphy indicated they plan to approach the KHRGC committee again at a future date.
## The Rise and Fall
Borell’s career trajectory took a dramatic turn in 2015-2016. After training Runhappy to victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint on October 31, 2015, she was fired the following day by owners James and Linda McIngvale of Gallery Racing Stables, LLC. Borell subsequently filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and defamation.
Following a brief stint with Drawing Away Stable in Florida that ended in May 2016, Borell’s reputation suffered further damage when an investigative article titled “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell” appeared on US Racing, alleging a pattern of questionable equine care and financial difficulties.
The situation escalated when Kentucky authorities discovered 43 neglected horses at a Harrodsburg farm leased by her father, Charles “Chuck” Borell. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture intervened to rehome the animals and provide veterinary care.
Class A misdemeanor charges and arrest warrants were issued for both Chuck and Maria Borell. While Chuck was arrested in July 2016 and later entered an Alford plea, Maria remained at large for six years before turning herself in to Kentucky authorities in June 2022.
## Legal Resolution
In July 2023, Borell reached a plea deal centered on the contention that the charges against her would be difficult to prove since the affected horses weren’t under her immediate care. She paid her $7,500 bail bond plus an additional $2,500 to Thoroughbred Charities of America, which had contributed approximately $13,000 toward caring for the horses.
Murphy also negotiated a settlement for Borell’s outstanding debt with Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, contingent upon her obtaining a license to train horses and generate income to repay the money.
At Tuesday’s KHRGC hearing, Borell acknowledged past mistakes while maintaining her innocence regarding the farm conditions.
“Obviously, you know, what happened with my dad’s farm was not my fault, but I did not handle it properly. I wish I came back and helped,” Borell said. “I’ve had a lot of time to think, and know how to do things right the second time around.”
Borell explained that after being fired by Runhappy’s owners, she had turned over farm operations to her father while pursuing training opportunities in Florida.
“I let my ego get the best of me, and I said, ‘Well, screw this. I’m going to move. I can do this again. I don’t need Runhappy.’ And I turned everything [at the farm] over to my dad and I moved to Florida,” Borell said.
She cited legal advice against returning to Kentucky during her lawsuit against McIngvale as her “biggest mistake,” adding, “It made me look guilty. I should have helped. I should have stepped up.”
Despite receiving a California license “immediately, no stipulations” and eventually gaining access to Santa Anita Park after an initial denial, Borell hasn’t officially saddled a horse in a race since May 11, 2016, at Gulfstream Park.
The KHRGC license review committee members who discussed her application in closed session were Greg Harbut, Paul Brooker, Michael Dudgeon, Jamie Eads and George Haydon.
