The horse trainer and Breeders’ Cup winner Maria Borell has been charged with 43 counts of second-degree cruelty to animals. The charge followed her father Chuck’s arrest after neglected horses were found abandoned on a farm in Kentucky. Chuck Borell was arrested on Wednesday morning by county sheriffs when he arrived at the farm in Mercer County.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, many of the horses needed treatment for malnutrition, and three of them were emaciated. They will now be taken care of by the state and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, an organization that works on helping racetrack horses who can no longer compete.
Maria Borell, who is alleged to own several of the neglected horses, trained last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, Runhappy. It was the sixth victory of her short career. Shane Mitchell, the investigator handling the case, believes there is enough to charge Maria Borell in addition to her father.
A gofundme page has been created in order to raise money for the neglected animals and so far $22,000 has been raised. Rusty Ford, Kentucky’s equine program manager, speaking at a summit for the welfare and safety of racehorses on Tuesday was pleased with the support from the local community. “For every bad apple that we have, I had 100 golden apples yesterday,” he said. “This industry needs to be commended. Multiple farms, and if I started naming individuals I would be here all day, have established accounts and resources to help us care for these horses.”
