July, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Seven Years And It’s Finally Over’: Animal Case Against Maria Borell Dropped By Kentucky Judge

Five years after it was filed and seven years after it began, the 43-count animal cruelty case against former trainer Maria Borell has been dismissed with prejudice by a Mercer County District Court Judge.

Borell's attorney, Russell Baldani, filed a tendered order last week proposing that the case be dropped, and it was signed by Judge Jeff Dotson on July 20. That order also removed the court's bond restriction that Borell not be responsible for the care of any horses in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and suggested that her $7,500 bond be held in escrow by Baldani and paid to Thoroughbred Charities of America.

Cases dismissed “with prejudice” may not be brought back to court.

Borell posted a statement expressing her relief that the case has come to a close.

“Seven years. Seven years and it's finally over. Saying it out loud, it seems impossible that it has been that long. Life stood still for me. To all of my past clients, my friends, my attorney Russ Baldani, everyone that has stood behind me through this battle, I love you and appreciate you more than you can ever imagine. Thank you for keeping me strong enough to never give up and to keep fighting. The outpouring of congratulatory messages and calls I received yesterday with plans for my future in racing was astounding. For the first time in years, my heart is full.

The internet is the harshest of all judges and juries. People that have never even met you, judge you, rather than using rational, logical thought processes with the facts that are presented. The way I have always said things that happened with my father's farm is the truth.

After everything happened, I was deprived of making a living and it took time to get resources together to fight the false accusations. I retained my first attorney in 2018. The date of the first motion recorded in Mercer County was October 2018. The years to follow were rifled with court delays and Covid. Mercer County did the right thing by dropping the charges and not wasting taxpayers' money on a trial: the facts for any culpability on my part simply were not there. I had no connection with the property in Mercer County, including the employees, care, and oversight of the horses. I was living and training horses 1,000 miles away in Florida for 7 months prior.

Those who know me, know I would never knowingly harm any animal. No animal in my personal care has ever been mistreated in any way. I am happily forfeiting my bail money to Thoroughbred Charities of America in thanks for helping all Thoroughbreds then, now, and in the future.”

Borell and her father, Charles Borell, were both charged with animal cruelty after 43 neglected horses were found in 2016 on a Mercer County farm that was leased in the elder Borell's name. Charles Borell entered an Alford guilty plea in the case – meaning he did not admit to committing a crime but conceded there was enough evidence to convict him. Prosecutors dropped 34 animal cruelty charges in exchange for his guilty plea on nine counts. He was put on probation for two years.

Maria Borell did not appear in court on the charges until last year, when she entered a not guilty plea. According to her attorney, she has not been living in Kentucky since late 2015.

The animal cruelty charges were misdemeanors, which meant that prior to her voluntary return to the state to enter a plea, she could not be extradited on the warrant.

Maria Borell trained Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Runhappy for most of his 3-year-old campaign in 2015, when he won the Grade 1 King's Bishop (now H. Allen Jerkens Stakes) at Saratoga and the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland. She was dismissed the day after the Breeders' Cup by owner James McIngvale and closed out the year with a G1 victory in the Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita.

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Equibase Analysis: Extra Anejo Poised To Upset Haskell Field

This Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes drew a strong field of eight including Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, who finished third in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes when last seen.

Three others enter the race off stakes wins, topped by Arabian Knight, who returns from nearly seven months off but won the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes before that. Geaux Rocket Ride ships in from California off a win in the Affirmed Stakes and fits with these horses, as does Salute the Stars, winner of the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth last month.

Tapit Trice adds depth to the field, having won the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes in April before a seventh place finish in the Kentucky Derby followed by a third place effort in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. Howgreatisnate won the Long Branch Stakes in May at Monmouth before a third place finish behind Salute the Stars in the Pegasus.

Extra Anejo enters the race off a six-length win in his first try around two turns and is another with a chance. Awesome Strong rounds out the field having won the first four starts of his career including the Florida Sire In Reality Stakes, all in 2022, with a fifth place finish to show for his only race this year.

Analysis and top contenders:

Although many of the eight entrants in this year's Haskell Stakes have proven competitive at the level, I think Extra Anejo, who has yet to run in a stakes race, is good enough to take his first step into top company and win. After winning his debut last fall by nearly 10 lengths with speed to spare, and with a very strong 99 Equibase® Speed Figure, Extra Anejo was away from the races for nearly seven months. Returning in a sprint in May, he finished second with an 89 figure but in his second start back he showed he was a much better horse. That was his first try in a route, run at a mile, on June 10. Not only did he improve a lot to earn a 100 figure, Extra Anejo showed the maturity of a horse which had run many times as he relaxed in second about four lengths off the early leader, then went by in a flash to open up by six lengths in handy fashion. As a son of Into Mischief, I have no doubt Extra Anejo can succeed at this 1 1/8-mile distance as two of the last three editions of the Haskell were won by sons of Into Mischief – Authentic in 2020 and Mandaloun in 2021. Likely to continue his pattern of improvement in his third start and second route off the layoff, Extra Anejo may be in stalking range behind presumptive early leader Arabian Knight and go by late for the slight upset.

Geaux Rocket Ride has run three times in his career, the same as Extra Anejo, and he too is on a pattern for improvement. Geaux Rocket Ride won his sprint debut in January easily by nearly six lengths, earning a strong 101 figure. Five weeks later he went right into the big leagues, finishing second around two turns in the San Felipe Stakes and improving to a 104 figure. Given two months off, Geaux Rocket Ride returned last month in the Affirmed Stakes and in that race he ran very similarly to the way Extra Anejo did in his recent win, stalking in third position for the first three quarters of a mile then moving up quickly to lead before being unchallenged the length of the stretch. That effort earned a 95 figure, but considering Geaux Rocket Ride is making his second start off a layoff, and considering the 104 figure effort prior to the rest, much better is expected. Hall-of-Fame trainer Dick Mandella rarely ships out of California but does very well when he does. Per a Race Lens query, Mandella has only started five horses in graded stakes routes on dirt when shipping outside of California in the past five years, winning with two of those including Omaha Beach in the 2019 Rebel Stakes and Soothsay in the 2021 Indiana Oaks, both races for 3-year-olds. With Hall-of-Fame jockey Mike Smith coming in from California for the mount, Geaux Rocket Ride must be taken very seriously as a contender.

Arabian Knight might be my top choice if not for the fact he is returning from nearly six months off, running two turns without a prep race, and facing some serious talent. After winning his debut last fall with a 98 figure (similar to Extra Anejo and Geaux Rocket Ride), Arabian Knight was off for nearly three months but not only returned a winner, he did so in a two-turn race, the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. Unfortunately something has kept him away from the races since then, but he's been working very fast in California for Bob Baffert and likely can fire his best shot, which would be a repeat of the 106 figure effort in the Southwest.

Honorable mention goes to Mage, Salute the Stars, and Tapit Trice, who are all top 3-year-olds but who I feel are a bit less probable to win this race than Extra Anejo, Geaux Rocket Ride, or Arabian Knight. Mage earned a career-best 104 figure winning the Kentucky Derby following a 102 figure when making the lead in the Florida Derby before being passed by Forte late in the race. In his only race since the Derby, Mage had little chance in the Preakness in May as his late kick was disadvantaged by the slow pace set by winner National Treasure. Salute the Stars won the local prep for this race, the Pegasus Stakes, last month with a 104 figure competitive in this field if repeated, and an improvement from the 98 figure earned one month earlier. Tapit Trice ran the best race of his career when winning the Blue Grass Stakes in April, earning a 103 figure, before a disappointing seventh in the Derby (91 figure) and a third place effort in the Belmont Stakes with a 99 figure.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase® Speed Figures, is Awesome Strong (73) and Howgreatisnate (100).

Win Contenders in preference order:
Extra Anejo
Geaux Rocket Ride
Arabian Knight

TVG.com Haskell Stakes – Grade 1
Race 12 at Monmouth Park
Saturday, July 22 – Post Time 5:45 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth
Three Years Old
Purse: $1 Million
T.V.: NBC 5 – 6 PM E.T.

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NYRA To Host All Graded Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Featuring Saratoga, Monmouth’s Haskell Day

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host an all graded stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring races from Saratoga Race Course and Haskell Day at Monmouth Park.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Saratoga Race Course and partner tracks across the country.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross –country –wagers.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, July 22

Leg A: Monmouth Park – Race 8, G3 Monmouth Cup (3:29 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Saratoga Race Course – Race 6, G3 Caress (3:52 p.m.)

Leg C: Monmouth Park – MSW – Race 11, G1 United Nations (5:06 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga Race Course – Race 9, G1 CCA Oaks (5:42 p.m.)

Leg E: Monmouth Park – Race 12, G1 Haskell (5:45 p.m.)

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Baffert Could Have Two For Travers: ‘Timing Is Good’ For National Treasure, Reincarnate ‘Back To His Old Self’

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said he currently has Grade 1 Preakness-winner National Treasure and recent Los Alamitos Derby-winner Reincarnate under consideration for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26 Saratoga Race Course.

National Treasure, by Quality Road, provided Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez his first Preakness win with a game head score over Blazing Sevens. The $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase was last seen finishing sixth on June 10 in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

“He looks good. The timing is good for him for something like that,” Baffert said. “He ran big in the Preakness and he needs a little more spacing. He'll like the mile and a quarter.

“Everything is subject to change,” added Baffert. “I go by how the horses are doing, and a lot can change between now and then.”

Reincarnate, by Good Magic, captured the Grade 3 Sham in January at Santa Anita en route to third-place finishes at Oaklawn Park in the Grade 2 Rebel and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. He finished a distant 13th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs.

The $775,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase returned from a two-month layoff on July 8 to take the nine-furlong Los Alamitos Derby in frontrunning fashion.

“He had lost a lot of weight and had been shipping a lot, but he's back to his old self and looks great,” Baffert said. “We always thought he was going to be a Belmont-type horse.”

National Treasure and Reincarnate are both owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.

Baffert, who will send out Arabian Knight in Saturday's Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park, said Zedan Racing Stables' Arabian Lion will not visit the Spa for the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam on July 28 here. However, the last-out winner of the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun is likely to ship here in company with last-out Grade 3 Dwyer-winner Fort Bragg for the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 26 as part of a stacked Travers Day card.

“I was thinking about it [the Amsterdam], but I'm going to wait for the Allen Jerkens,” Baffert said regarding Arabian Lion. “He's been doing really well. I almost ran him in the Haskell, but I have Arabian Knight in there for the same owner.”

Baffert said Zedan Racing Stables' Arabian Knight, the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Haskell, is in good order as he visits his third different track in as many starts.

The Uncle Mo colt, a $2.3 million OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, won by 7 1/4-lengths on debut in November at Keeneland and followed in January with a 5 1/2-length romp over sloppy and sealed going in the Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn Park.

“I think he'd suit any track you put him on. He's never run at home – all his races have been on the road. He's never run in California,” Baffert said.

Baffert, who noted he expects to send some 2-year-olds to Saratoga for upcoming stakes races, said Arabian Knight would be unlikely to try for a Haskell-Travers double.

“I doubt it. He's a horse that I like to space out his races. It's tough to do the Haskell to Travers,” Baffert said.

Baffert last attempted a Haskell-Travers double with 2015 Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah, who finished a close second to Keen Ice.

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