Photo:

Scott Serio / Eclipse Sportswire

Nearly 14 months after animal-cruelty charges against her
were dropped in Kentucky, Breeders’ Cup-winning trainer Maria Borell has been
granted a trainer’s license in California, the state’s racing authority said on
its website.

In a statement provided to Daily Racing Form, the
California Horse Racing Board said, “Because she had been inactive, (Borell)
was asked to take tests with stewards and the official veterinarian, which she
passed. After meeting other criteria (such as) worker’s compensation insurance,
she was issued a license two days ago, there being no legal impediment to her
being granted a license in California.”

Borell came to prominence in 2015 when she trained Runhappy
to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland on the same day Triple
Crown winner American Pharoah was victorious in the Classic. The following day
she was fired by owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale. His sister-in-law Laura
Wohlers took over training the colt who would win an Eclipse Award and become a
high-profile sire.

The following year Borell and her father were indicted on 43
misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after Kentucky authorities said they found
that many underfed horses on their property. Within three months Charles Borell
accepted a plea deal that put him on probation without having to admit guilt to
nine charges. Maria Borell claimed she was innocent.

“I had no connection with the property in Mercer County
(Ky.), including the employees, care and oversight of the horses,” she wrote on
Facebook after the case was dropped. “I was living and training horses 1,000
miles away in Florida for seven 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.”

According to a BloodHorse report last summer, the
deal that Borell made with prosecutors to clear her name required her to pay a $7,500
bail bond to Thoroughbred Charities of America, which provided more than
$13,000 worth of care to the neglected horses.

Borell told DRF she hopes to train horses in
California for several unnamed clients. Her license runs through Jan. 31, 2027.

According to Equibase, Borell has not had a horse race in her name since May 2016 at Gulfstream Park. Her record spanning 2013-16 is 46: 6-6-4 with earnings of $1,349,689. Of that, $820,000 came from Runhappy’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup.