Borell seeks compensation from McIngvale

An attorney for Maria Borell, the listed trainer for the horse Runhappy when he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Saturday, has sent letters to the horse’s connections seeking compensation for her role in handling the colt, according to the attorney she has hired.

Richard Getty, an attorney who is a longtime horse owner, said a first letter sent Tuesday requests “six figures” in compensation from Jim McIngvale’s Gallery Stable, largely based on an estimate of 10 percent of the purse earnings from Runhappy’s wins in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga in August and the Sprint last Saturday. Getty also said that the figure includes several future breeding rights to Runhappy based on the two Grade 1 wins, citing a practice in Thoroughbred racing in which trainers are often awarded breeding rights to colts that win Grade 1 stakes races while under their care.

Borell was fired by McIngvale on Sunday, one day after the Sprint win. Borell, who took out her trainer’s license in 2013 and had not won a race until Runhappy was put in her care, is based at the Thoroughbred Center training facility north of Lexington, Ky.

Getty, who said he has advised Borell to decline any requests to speak with the media, said Borell did not have a written agreement with McIngvale or his stable expressly laying out compensation. Since the win in the King’s Bishop, she has made several requests to McIngvale for the 10 percent of the purse winnings from the race, but those requests went unanswered, Getty said.

“All she wants is what she is owed and that he pay what she’s due,” Getty said.

Hank Stout, the attorney for McIngvale and Gallery Racing, did not return a phone call. The letters were sent to Stout, and Getty said that he has had conversations with the attorney about the subject.

The situation involving McIngvale, Borell, and Runhappy has become a major topic of discussion in the racing industry since the Breeders’ Cup. Borell, 32, and Runhappy were the subjects of a major feature that ran during the Breeders’ Cup broadcast on NBC, and many observers of the rapidly developing drama have rallied around Borell as the victim of an overbearing owner with a dubious and checkered history in the sport, including the employment of more than 30 trainers.

At the same time, several industry insiders and Runhappy’s owners have cast doubt on the extent of Borell’s role in training the horse, even if she has been listed as the trainer since the winter. Prior to that, the horse’s trainer was listed as Laura Wohlers, who is McIngvale’s sister-in-law. Wohlers has periodically trained horses owned by McIngvale, despite having a full-time job as the head of Gallery Furniture’s service department. The business is based in Houston.

Borell has said a dispute with Wohlers on Sunday morning led to her dismissal.

Just prior to the Breeders’ Cup, McIngvale, Wohlers, and Borell were interviewed for a Blood-Horse magazine article about Runhappy.

“Laura does a great job managing the operation, and Maria does a good job,” McIngvale was quoted as saying. “We’ve got good chemistry.”

In a previous version of this article, the headline and and story incorrectly stated that Maria Borell's attorney had filed a lawsuit against Jim McIngvale. She has not filed a lawsuit, but is currently seeking compensation.