In the span of seven months nearly a decade ago, Maria Borell went from the ecstasy of training a Breeders' Cup winner with just her 30th lifetime starter to making national headlines for being a no-show in the face of animal cruelty charges after authorities rescued 43 neglected and undernourished horses from dire stabling conditions at a Kentucky farm leased by her father.
On Tuesday, Borell was stymied in her attempt to regain a Thoroughbred training license in her home state.
Borell, now 42, had been hopeful she would be able to regain her licensure. In July 2023, her charges from 2016 all got dismissed in Mercer County District Court, and in September 2024, Borell was licensed as a trainer in California.
But on June 17, 2025, after hearing testimony from Borell while her attorney, Karen Murphy, watched via videoconference, the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation (KHRGC)'s license review committee went into closed session to debate the matter.
When the committee reconvened in open session, its chairman, Greg Harbut, informed Borell that if she didn't choose to withdraw her license request, the committee's vote would “almost certainly result in denial of this application.”
Murphy, who has ample experience handling licensure hearings for trainers, immediately withdrew the application on Borell's behalf. The attorney was aware that a denial on her record might jeopardize Borell's ability to continue training in other states and would likely cause bureaucratic difficulties for a future pursuit of licensure in Kentucky.
“Maria is heartbroken,” Murphy told TDN in a phone interview after Tuesday's 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, and focus on what it is that we're missing, because I don't know what we're missing.
“It's very disappointing for reasons that are both human and legal. On the legal side-and I kind of wanted to speak on it [at the hearing], but I wasn't allowed to-Maria spent a substantial amount of time to achieve what she achieved, which was a dismissal with prejudice of all the charges, and an expungement from the record.
“An expungement means that the court has treated the matter as if it never happened, and it has directed the court, if anybody was to ask, to not reveal anything about the matter. And the individual, who the charges were brought against, is also notified that they don't have to reveal [the expunged charges]. That is a legal principle that is applied everywhere in the United States of America, and it [doesn't exclude] racing.”
Murphy continued: “She's passed the trainer's test. She has a license in California. She's able to participate there. So there's ample precedent. For Kentucky not to take the same principled position-there is no legal impediment to her licensure-there's something else that's going on. And I don't know what it is, other than the fact that we all know what happened, but the court and the law has said to Kentucky the point of expungement is to relieve a person of a perpetual black mark once the court has decided there's no merit to the case.
“That's what the court decided, and [the license review committee] was provided with those documents. So that's a very challenging situation to be in, and we'll meet the challenge. But we're extremely disappointed in the fact that they failed to meet their obligation to respect the law,” Murphy said.
Murphy told TDN to expect that Borell would be back before the KHRGC's license review committee at a future date.
Chronology of the Case…
At this time 10 years ago, Borell had never trained a Thoroughbred winner from 22 lifetime starts. Then she took over as the conditioner of Runhappy, who blossomed into a graded stakes-winning sprinter and eventual Eclipse Award-winning champion.
But 24 hours after Runhappy won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint on Oct. 31, 2015, Borell was fired, and she sued client Gallery Racing Stables, LLC, (owners James and Linda McIngvale) for breach of contract and defamation.
Over the winter of 2015-16, Borell relocated to Florida, but a training stint with Drawing Away Stable was also short-lived, ending in a May 2016 dismissal from that job.
In May 2016, an investigative article titled “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell” was published on (but has since been removed from) the website US Racing. It alleged that Borell had been involved in a series of incidents involving questionable equine care, damage to and neglect of properties she has leased, and personal financial difficulties.
After reading that article and a follow-up that specifically referenced alleged neglect at a farm near Harrodsburg leased by Charles “Chuck” Borell, the Mercer County Sheriff began investigating.
When the sheriff's investigators found underfed, underwatered, and confined horses with open sores, untrimmed feet, and no one seemingly present to care for them, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDOA) stepped in to rehome the horses and provide them with veterinary care.
Deeming that the horses there had been abandoned by Chuck and Maria Borell, Class A misdemeanor charges and arrest warrants were issued for the father-and-daughter tandem.
Chuck Borell was arrested on July 29, 2016, while Maria Borell remained at large.
Chuck Borell entered an “Alford plea” (a plea of guilty without making an admission of guilt) in Mercer County District Court on Sept. 29, 2016, that spared him from going to jail. He was to serve two years of probation in return for relinquishing any ownership interest he had in the 43 horses that had since been moved to 14 different farms.
Maria Borell was technically considered a fugitive from justice. But KDOA officials told TDN back in 2016 that the department did not have the resources to extradite her if she was apprehended out of state.
From 2022 to today…
After six years, in June 2022, Maria Borell turned herself in to Kentucky authorities. In an effort to address the charges and clear her name, she initially pleaded not guilty.
Prior to the case going to trial, a different attorney for Maria Borell negotiated a plea deal in July 2023 that centered on the contention that the charges against her would be difficult to prove given that the affected horses were not under her immediate care at the time.
Maria Borell ended up paying her $7,500 bail bond (plus an additional $2,500 that had been held in escrow) to Thoroughbred Charities of America, which had laid out as much as $13,000 toward caring for the horses.
Separately, Murphy said she recently negotiated a settlement for Maria Borell's outstanding debt with Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, a deal that is predicated on her client obtaining a license to train horses and being able to bring in income to pay the money.
At her June 17, 2025, KHRGC license review hearing, Maria Borell gave her side of the story about what happened during the time she was out of public view with animal cruelty charges pending.
“I know it's been a long time since I've been licensed to train here, and it's been a long road, and I learned a lot of lessons in the past nine years,” Maria Borell said.
“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,” Maria Borell said.
“I've had a lot of time to think, and know how to do things right the second time around, you know. I have continued to work with horses the whole time. I have my own personal horses. I am a vet assistant, at times, in busy seasons for my horse vet. And I'd really like another chance,” Maria Borell said.
“I consider Kentucky home, and I'd love the opportunity to be back here and prove myself and not screw up this time in any way, shape or form,” Maria Borell said.
Maria Borell said that she did, at one time, have control over the Harrodsburg farm leased by her father. But in the aftermath of her firing by the owners of Runhappy, she had jumped at a chance to make a fresh start by training 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,” Maria Borell said.
“And then seven months later, my dad had a new farm out in Clark County, and everything had gone horrible,” Maria Borell said.
“At the time, I was suing Mr. McIngvale for my winnings at the Breeders' Cup and other races, and my attorney at the time told me, 'Don't come back [to Kentucky]. It's going to make you look bad. You're not responsible for that farm. You won't have any chance to win this money. Don't come back,'” Maria Borell said.
“And that was my biggest mistake. It made me look guilty. I should have helped. I should have stepped up. And that is my biggest regret of all, is not coming back to help when it was clearly needed,” Maria Borell said.
Maria Borell said that in California, “They licensed me immediately, no stipulations.”
But last autumn, she explained, she had to go through a separate hearing with management at Santa Anita Park, which had denied her access to the track.
Santa Anita management eventually granted her access, and she was assigned stalls at Los Alamitos Race Course.
But by that time, the owner who had promised to send her horses to train came down with health issues, and eventually decided to keep his stock in Kentucky.
Because of that, Maria Borell still hasn't officially saddled a horse in a race since May 11, 2016, at Gulfstream Park.
Maria Borell said at Tuesday's hearing that she believes she has support from the Thoroughbred community to be allowed to train again.
She specifically referenced trainer Kenny McPeek phoning a KHRGC license review committee member to vouch for her, and also mentioned a support letter submitted with her application from trainer Gary Contessa.
“As far as people actually at the track, in the industry, I do seem to have actual support, honestly,” Maria Borell said.
“And I would love a second chance. I won't let you guys down. I swear, I will not screw up a second chance,” Maria Borell said.
But on Tuesday, committee members did not allow Maria Borell that opportunity.
Besides Harbut, the other KHRGC license review committee members who discussed her application in closed session were Paul Brooker, Michael Dudgeon, Jamie Eads and George Haydon.
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