In 2016, the racing world was shaken when Breeders’ Cup Sprint winning trainer Maria Borell and her father Charles were named in an equine neglect case in Mercer County, Ky., that centered on 43 horses, many of them Thoroughbreds. The Chronicle of the Horse followed up this week with an update on one of the horses in that case.
Aptly-named Left For Dead (Offlee Wild—Princess Megan, El Corredor) was three years old and unraced when he and the other horses on the property were declared abandoned by the Borells. He made his racing debut at five at Turfway Park under trainer and owner Geoff Mulcahy. From there he was bought by Giacole Stables and trained by Steve Krebs. Though Left For Dead had no lasting physical effects from his neglect, Krebs said he did have one quirk: He would hide his feed bucket under the straw in his stall.
Krebs donated Left For Dead to Turning For Home after it was clear he wasn’t enamored with racing—or the starting gate. The horse was then given to Lara Anderson at Full Gallop Farm to see if he was interested in being an event horse.
Called “Mort” at the farm, the gelding has taken to eventing like a fish to water. He isn’t afraid of the jumps and is able to be handled by an amateur. He is kind to handle on the ground and has a wonderful work ethic. Jessica Schultz of Fair Play Farm has taken over the ride on Mort and plans to compete him at Novice this year. Mort is currently for sale.
Charles Borell entered an Alford plea to nine of the 43 animal cruelty charges in September 2016, meaning he did not admit wrongdoing but conceded there was enough evidence against him to bring conviction.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture and Mercer County Fiscal Court sued both Borells in Mercer County Circuit Court seeking $20,000 they spent taking care of the horses abandoned on the property. That case was closed in 2018 for lack of prosecution.
In late 2018, Maria Borell’s attorney petitioned the court to have the warrant against her over the 43 counts of animal cruelty converted to a summons (which would have required her to appear in court but not triggered an arrest), but the petition was unsuccessful. All 43 counts are misdemeanors, and Borell cannot be extradited from another state on misdemeanor charges. So far, she has not returned to Kentucky to face those charges. In 2019, she saw a recently-acquired U.S. Equestrian Federation membership suspended after the organization became aware of her alleged involvement in the animal cruelty case. She was later ruled ineligible for membership.
Read more at the Chronicle of the Horse.
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