Sometime around Preakness Day, Drawing Away Stables announced that they had ended
their association with thoroughbred racing\'s most famous woman scorned, Maria
Borell.
If you love horses (or animals of any kind), or have ever been entrusted with the
care of horses, the allegations in this article are rather sickening.
One can only hope that before this woman is ever licensed again that she master
the use of two essential barn implements: the pitchfork and the hoofpick.
If the allegations made in this article are true, where is PETA?
https://www.usracing.com/news/analysis/shocking-untold-story-maria-borell
Frankly, I was skeptical about his woman\'s qualifications as a serious trainer when she published a photo of herself wearing a miniskirt while walking a horse on shed row, but hen I figured, well sex sells today as proven by the stupid Derby coverage by NBC.
As these other serious facts come to light it\'s clear that this woman should never be entrusted with the care for another animal again.
Good question... where the f#%k IS PETA??? Is much easier for them to see an unfortunate breakdown and hold a press conference then to actually spend time/resources in doing a legitimate investigation...
Let\'s not forget the major culprit here is Borell. If there is secondary blame to be assigned let\'s look to the racing industry who allows this woman to function as a trainer.
Not a fan of PETA but they try to bring attention to instances of animal cruelty which is impossible in every case. Now that the facts are out in this case it depends on the racing industry and the legal system to act.
She 86\'ed her Twitter account following that reporting. FWIW, I would tell her to do that either way if I was her lawyer, given the fact that she\'s involved in multiple lawsuits (pretty standard advice to 86 all social media accounts when involved in legal action).
Allegations look awful, especially when taken together with several of the videos posted.
Agreed....
bobphilo Wrote:
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> Now that the facts are out in this
> case it depends on the racing industry and the
> legal system to act.
Bob, glad you\'re healthy again and we have already established that your nom
de plume has nothing to do with Philo Kvetch...
BUT please go back to my short post which accompanied this article and note I
was careful to use the word \"allegations\".
Because some of the allegations are so serious (equine neglect, unburied
carcasses, financial immaturity and sloth), I would need for the allegations
to be made more convincingly for me; specifically I would want to hear more of
this story from entities who do not have a huge axe to grind against Ms.
Borell.
Angry folks get emotional; Ms. Borell\'s canines allegedly covered this
woman\'s house in piss and s--t, and then chewed it nearly to the ground.
Unfortunately I would say that horses are arguably neglected or abused on
every racing circuit in the US (OPINION), but the allegations in this case are
serious and came to light only because Ms. Borell became involved with a very
talented racehorse.
Anybody wondering if there\'s a teletimer problem on the Belmont turf courses?
Anyone know why California 2YO/winter/spring dirt 3YOs are developing much
more quickly than their eastern counterparts (run-based)?
I seem to remember everyone in the Facebook Twitter world rushed to her side when Runhappy was moved. That Mattress Mac was an evil villain and hated women. If these allegations are true someone is owed an apology they surely will never get....
Can\'t speak to Facebook as I only observe Twitter, but it was definitely true in that sphere that Mack was the big evil, and Maria was the darling the Twitterverse was going to rescue.
Still 1-2 touts out there clinging to that narrative, FWIW.
Hey Richie, thanks for the greeting regarding my return but how did you know I was a fan of the antics of Philo Kvetch and Soupy Sales back in my high school days? I was training director of the dog service down the block where we took care of his dogs on East 80th street on the NYC upper east side.
Actually the philo refers to my Philosophy degree in college.
Yes, the public reaction to MS. Borell\'s alleged cruelties seems to be due to the fact that she trained a top horse. Isn\'t it a shame that lesser abused horses don\'t get the same attention.
In this case it seems that opinion is divided between her Facebook fans and those that have actually have real contact with her.
If Mattress Mac is the good guy, maybe it\'s also possible that Trump isn\'t a mysoginist, racist, narcissist, xenophobe?
On a more serious note, amazing allegations. I hate to admit I was full of vitriol for the connections for dumping Borell. Seemed like a classic \"small guy/gal gets crushed by big guy\" situation
I guess not so much.....
Rob
I think this is one of those deals where we\'re going to have to wait a while for the smoke to clear. In the case of Asmussen there was a lot more smoke than fire. And sometimes there are no good guys. (A friend of mine created a name for that situation, but I can\'t say it here).
Tell you this, if the stuff in the article is NOT true, there\'s gonna be a lawsuit. Comments, Rez?
There are already a lot of lawsuits pending. This is a very litigious society. Should be interesting to see all the results, though I wouldn\'t hold my breath on quick results.
Who knows what the sum of the Mattress Man\'s motivation was, but the event that triggered Borell\'s getting fired the day after the Breeders\' Cup was her refusal to send Runhappy out to the track for exercise because (according to Borell) he had a hot ankle.
Borell being less pure than Snow White does not make Mattress Mack Price Charming.
ringato3 Wrote:
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> mysoginist, racist, narcissist
Reminds me of the funny scene in the movie \"Foxcatcher\":
\"ornithologist, philatelist, philanthropist...\"
though it is hard for me to watch people doing coke on a private airplane
without thinking of the ALLEGATIONS regarding former top thoroughbred owner
Dan Lasater using then Arkansas governor William Rodham Clinton\'s state
airplane for transporting large quantities of narcotics.
I am about to make my first and only political utterance of this campaign:
\"pizza and a six pack of Michelob\"
That\'s my price. That\'s what it would take for me to vote for either DT or
HRC. That\'s what my alderman in St. Louis used to drop by with a week before
election day to \"remind\" me to vote.
Not bad...deep dish or thin crust??.. hopefully this time next week we can discuss the Belmont...
Since Borell is most likely to be considered a public figure, even if the allegations are false, she would be required to demonstrate Malice for a libel claim. That is a difficult and costly exercise- unless Matressman was calling in a favor and asked someone to make this stuff up. Not likely. The Kentucky lawsuit between McIngvale and Borellhas remained too quiet for too long. There was a flurry of motion practice immediately after the lawsuit started and nothing since. Likely settlement being discussed- this is a lose lose for the Kentucky horse racing business. Jerry is correct ( of course) when he says everyone should wait before judging. Many on this board- me included-were quick to throw the Matressman under the bus when she was fired. I agree- likely only bad guys here.
No deep dish in St. Louis.
Only the thin crust with controversial Provel cheese on Imo\'s Square Beyond Compare.....try it if you are ever here and either love it or hate it.
I don\'t think that Imo\'s was a big deal when richiebee\'s aldermen was seeking out his vote though.
FWIW, a friend I made in Kentucky a few years ago who is a backstretch worker for several outfits told me long before Runhappy won the BC (months before) that Maria had a horrible reputation among the people in the industry. After the article, this person told me she had heard everything in the article save one issue that was raised.
What I find odd is that someone like Mattress Mac, who is so fussy about his trainers, would hire someone like Borell with such a dubious background in the first place.
Hey Rez, are you a KY lawyer? Does KY law recognize the tort of false light?
C\'mon. He is Mattress Mac. Not much of a stretch that he was.....
Fairmount1 Wrote:
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> No deep dish in St. Louis.
Somehow I do not feel old recalling races run nearly 40 years ago, but I feel
old having to correct my young friend Fairmount, who was not yet born when I
was wandering the streets of his hometown.
Way back when, at the corner of Lindell Blvd and North Skinker Blvd, near the
northeast corner of the Washington University campus, near the northwest corner
of Forest Park, was Talaynas. Talaynas served Chicago style (pan pizza = deep
dish) and NY style (thin crust) pizza and pitchers of Anheuser Busch products.
Open till 3am each day. The interior was decorated with stained glass.
Mike Faille, owner of this and other Talaynas restaurants, passed in 2011.
Seeing him work his place in the 1970s reminded me of some of the colorful
Staten Island sorts I remembered from my youth. The pie wasn\'t bad and the beer
was always cold.
After the first year my alderman visited, I let him know that I preferred the
pizza from Pizza A Go Go on Grand Ave in south St. Louis, and the next two
years that is just what he brought me.
TP- I am a NY litigator. but am familiar with the tort of false light which the Kenticky courts, based on some quick research, more or less fold in to the tort of invasion of privacy. Under Ky. law the false light claim would- like libel or slander- require reckless disregard or gross negligence to support such a claim. In addition, it strikes me that as a public figure who had no trouble being on national TV afterRun Happy won the Breeders Cup sprint, to the extent this tort is part of an invasion of privacy claim, she doesn\'t quite qualify. Frank D- two different early weather forecasts for Belmont weekend- weather channel 50-60% chance of rain both days and weather network good weather and 90\"degrees Belmont Saturday.
magicnight Wrote:
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> Who knows what the sum of the Mattress Man\'s
> motivation was, but the event that triggered
> Borell\'s getting fired the day after the Breeders\'
> Cup was her refusal to send Runhappy out to the
> track for exercise because (according to Borell)
> he had a hot ankle.
>
> Borell being less pure than Snow White does not
> make Mattress Mack Price Charming.
I\'m not sure why Mac gets so much heat. Remember that the horse was cleared by the vet to go out and jog that morning. Why did people believe Borell knew better than the vet if it was ok to go out and jog?
The timing may have been unfortunate, but it was claimed that the ugliness of the fight over this is what led to her being fired. After having seen the videos of Borell dealing with her landlord, I could readily imagine the degree of insubordination that was claimed.
What\'s interesting and disturbing is that this article is a week or more old and it\'s been all crickets from people with authority in the sport. At minimum, racing needs to find her horses and make sure they\'re being properly cared for. She can\'t afford these horses and that puts them in danger.
You\'re not making up North Skinker, that\'s really a place? Does that mean there\'s a South Skinker?
First prep for TG Open today.
JB I am pretty sure the street name is accurate, but maybe the alderman gave away enough pizza and Michelob to have a street named after him.
TG Open Friday after Whitney?
Speaking of golf, kinda ironic the PGA outsourced Trump\'s tournament at Doral to Mexico City.
Both a north and south skinker blvd in st. Louis
So now all the Mattress Mac allegations are going to get swept under the bed?
JimP Wrote:
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> So now all the Mattress Mac allegations are going
> to get swept under the bed?
What allegations? The only things I\'ve heard that people were railing about were that he fired her the day after the BC, and that he\'s had 30 or so trainers throughout his time as an owner.
Whoever said that politicians don\'t listen to their constituents!!!
rezlegal Wrote:
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> TP- I am a NY litigator. but am familiar with the
> tort of false light which the Kenticky courts,
> based on some quick research, more or less fold in
> to the tort of invasion of privacy. Under Ky. law
> the false light claim would- like libel or
> slander- require reckless disregard or gross
> negligence to support such a claim. In addition,
> it strikes me that as a public figure who had no
> trouble being on national TV afterRun Happy won
> the Breeders Cup sprint, to the extent this tort
> is part of an invasion of privacy claim, she
> doesn\'t quite qualify.
Gotcha. Here in NV the law re false light is essentially the same - knowledge of or reckless disregard. Can be a little easier to prove a case because you don\'t have to prove economic damage to reputation.
Turns out there\'s case pretty close to this point here in NV, if anyone\'s interested: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Bobby Berosini, Ltd., 111 Nev. 615 (1995).
Cliff\'s notes: Bobby Berosini had an act at the Stardust, in which he used some orangutans as performers. A human performer in the show didn\'t like the way Berosini beat the apes, and started (surreptitiously) videotaping it backstage. PETA gets involved, the tapes are on the nightly news, and PETA/others are offering their opinion. Eventually the court tosses all of Berosini\'s claims, essentially saying he didn\'t have a privacy interest in the backstage area, PETA didn\'t alter the video, and their opinion as to whether those were \"beatings\" is just that - an opinion - and so isn\'t actionable.
As always, your mileage may vary..
You may be right. I\'ll have to sleep on it.
If anyone should be sued it\'s the guy who did that horrible tattoo on her back. As stated previously, only bad guys here.
I think Jim Matucci (sp?) owns that site now - he has those pasta houses too. Was in the LOU last week for one dismal loss and one heartbreaking loss to the damn CUBS (yes, Fairmount the damn CUBS).
Richie - your alderman was no Sorkis Webbe...