Following a hearing on March 31, a hearing officer assigned to the case by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation has recommended that the Corporation re-license trainer Maria Borell. The former trainer of Runhappy (Super Saver), she has not started a horse since 2016.The Corporation identified three grounds for attempting to deny the renewal application: 1) lack of candor; (2) failure to satisfy the financial-responsibility statute and regulation; and (3) the “where have you been?” theory, which questioned whether Borell's absence from Kentucky racing affected her horsemanship skills and ability to train horses.Borell's finest moments came with Runhappy, the winner of the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Owned by Jim McIngvale, Runhappy was also named that year's Eclipse Award-winning sprinter. The day after the Breeders' Cup win, McIngvale fired Borell.In a tweet, Borell told her side of the story when it came to the firing.“(Runhappy) had (filling) and heat in an ankle this morning, (and McIngvale's racing manager Laura Wohlers) wanted to send him to the track,” Borell wrote. “Now she tells me I'm gone… Just went from the best day of my life to the worst day of my life… Since the King's Bishop, it's been a fight about everyone wanting to change everything.”In 2016, Borell was accused of animal-neglect offenses involving horses found on her father's farm in Mercer County, Kentucky. Borell was later cleared of those charges; all charges were dismissed, and the record was expunged.The hearing officer made it clear that nothing that happened at her father's farm was cause for denying her a license,“Upon expungement, the law treats the charges as though they were never brought. This Recommended Order takes that principle into account and does not consider the charges as evidence against Borell,” the ruling read.Borell had faced animal cruelty charges after authorities rescued 43 neglected and undernourished horses from dire stabling conditions at the Kentucky farm leased by her father.As far as the other reasons the Corporation gave for denying Borell's license, the hearing officer clearly sided with Borell.“Borell's proof was more persuasive than the Corporation's proof on the issue of whether her license should be renewed,” the ruling read. “The Corporation's case lacked substance and was not convincing on the issues presented. The Corporation failed to present evidence of conduct or inaction serious enough to justify non-renewal of Borell's license. The asserted grounds for denying Borell's license were vague and inconsistent throughout this matter.In 2025, Borell resubmitted her license application for consideration by the Corporation's full board. On July 25, 2025, the Corporation informed Borell's counsel that it was not inclined to take up her application at that time. She then withdrew her application.According to the ruling, the Corporation did not provide sufficient reasons for denying her application. The hearing officer ruled that the way the Corporation handled Borell's application at the time was a violation of her due process rights.“The Corporation's disclosure of its vague and subjective grounds for the first time during opening statement at the administrative hearing did not satisfy due process. A trainer has a property interest in a license that cannot be revoked, suspended, or denied without due process of law,” the ruling read.The case will now go back to the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, which can either reject or accept the hearing officer's ruling.“We never knew what the explicit reasons were for their actions and that's for good reason–there were none,” said Borell's attorney Robert Heleringer. “We're hopeful that the racing corporation will see the light and issue Ms. Borell a license so she can get back to making a living. They can either reject or accept the hearing officer's decision. If they want to continue with their vendetta that would be most unfortunate.”The post Hearing Officer Recommends That Maria Borell Be Granted A Trainers’ License appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.