Maria Borell

A new article from Past The Wire takes a factual, balanced look at my licensing case and the hearing officer’s findings. It explains what evidence was presented, what the state asked for, and what was ultimately ignored. If you care about fairness, due process, or transparency in racing, this is worth reading. pastthewire.com/kentucky-ask…

Gary Contessa 💪🏼

If something happened at Seth Hancock’s farm, would Arthur Hancock be blamed? If something happened in Bill Mott’s barn, would Riley Mott be blamed? Everyone knows the answer is no.

This message is from a very well known trainer in NY.

Today the board denied my license, and it wasn’t a surprise to me. It’s exactly what I expected. They didn’t want to deal with me, not the facts, not the hearing officer’s findings. There is no legal or factual reason for this denial. The hearing officer spent 7 hours hearing evidence and testimony and concluded there was no evidence to support denial. He formally recommended reinstatement. That recommendation is part of the official record. I had zero involvement with the farm connected to the dismissed case. I was living over a thousand miles away and had no role in its operations. The case was dismissed by Kentucky’s own court system, expunged, and legally treated as if it never occurred. Under Kentucky law, expunged matters cannot be used in licensing decisions. My record in racing is clean: no drug positives, no disciplinary violations, and full compliance with every requirement. Meanwhile, this industry has a long, well‑documented pattern: men are given second, third, and fourth chances, even after multiple medication positives, suspensions, and serious violations. I have none of those issues, yet I was denied. The administrative process is now complete, and I am free to speak openly. This now moves to court, where decisions are based on evidence, law, and fairness, not personal vendettas, politics, or selective enforcement.

Tomorrow the KY board will vote on my trainers license. At this point, there is no legal or factual basis to deny it. After an all day. 9-4pm evidentiary hearing, the hearing officer found no evidence to support denial. He described the stated reasons as ‘vague and inconsistent’ and formally recommended reinstatement in his 12 page recommended order. That recommendation is part of the official record. My history in racing is clean: NO drug positives and NO disciplinary violations. The 2016 charges were dismissed, expunged, and legally treated as if they never occurred. Expunged charges cannot be used as a basis for licensing decisions under Kentucky law. They are not part of my record and cannot be considered. The Commonwealth of Kentucky permanently closed the case. There was no conviction, no finding of wrongdoing, and no legal barrier to my licensure. I have passed the trainer’s test again when I was licensed in California and complied with every requirement that has been placed on me. Racing has always allowed second chances, even for trainers with multiple medication positives, suspensions, and serious violations. I have none of those. There is no legal reason to deny me a license when others with far more serious issues have been granted theirs. I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for consistency, fairness, and for the board to follow its own process, its own hearing officer, and the law.

I am doing a podcast this weekend with @RaworDie , I’ll post the YouTube link after it’s done

After an eight-hour evidentiary hearing, months of sworn depositions, and a 12-page written ruling, a neutral state hearing officer found exactly what I have said all along: there was no legitimate basis to deny me a Kentucky horse trainer's license. For nearly a decade, I have fought to get back something I earned: the right to train Thoroughbreds in Kentucky. On June 2, 2026, Hon. Clayton B. Patrick, Deputy Executive Director of the Public Protection Cabinet's Office of Administrative Hearings, a neutral state hearing officer with no prior involvement in my case, issued that 12-page recommended order after the full-day evidentiary hearing on March 31, 2026, and months of pre-hearing discovery, including depositions of multiple witnesses, among them KHRGC's own CEO, Jamie Eads, and Chief State Steward Barbara Borden. This was not a close call or a split decision. The hearing officer found that "the Corporation's case lacked substance and was not convincing on the issues presented," that I "met her burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence on all theories presented by the Corporation," and that the Corporation "failed to provide adequate due process and failed to present proof establishing a proper basis to deny" me a license. He further found that "the asserted grounds for denying Borell's license were vague and inconsistent throughout this matter," and that the Corporation's position "has been a moving target" since I first applied for renewal. This wasn't a thin record. It was built over months and tested in a full day of live testimony, cross-examination, and sworn depositions. The hearing officer who heard it all, weighed all of it, and ruled accordingly, finding that the Corporation "offered no proof" that I lacked horsemanship skills or commitment to my work and horses, and that "the record contains no proof to the contrary." On the question of how I care for the horses in my charge, the hearing officer found the testimony showed I provided "exceedingly high and thorough care." The Corporation did not simply fail to make its case, the evidence in the record affirmatively contradicted it. I am not the person some have tried to paint me as. In the years since, I have worked steadily to meet my financial obligations, and I will continue to do so. I have also had to live through people repeatedly calling animal welfare authorities on me over the years, hoping to find something. Every single time, no issues were ever found. People grow. People change. I am asking to be judged on who I am today, and on the record that was actually built and tested in this case, not on rumor or repeated attempts to manufacture a problem where none exists. The matter now sits before the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation's board, which must decide by September 1, 2026, whether to adopt, reject, or amend that recommendation. I trust the record, and I trust that anyone who reads the hearing officer's findings in full will understand why I remain hopeful. I am beyond grateful to everyone who has stood by me through this. I look forward to getting back to the work and the horses I love. Maria Borell

If anyone doubts the selective enforcement in racing, this article spells out the hypocrisy in black and white. @paulickreport @theTDN @BloodHorse pastthewire.com/the-standard…