Charles Borell likely to have trial date set at Sept. 29 hearing

Charles Borell, a Syracuse, N.Y., resident who was charged this summer by Mercer County, Ky., prosecutors with 43 counts of animal cruelty based on allegations of abandoning horses at a Kentucky farm, is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 29 after a pretrial conference Thursday, according to his attorney.

Mercer County District Court Judge Jeff Dotson is expected to schedule a trial date at the Sept. 29 hearing. Borell’s attorney, Larry Catlett, would not comment on any aspect of the case when reached Friday morning.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Borell has been offered a plea deal, but the prosecuting attorney, Ted Dean, would not provide details of the deal. It is common for prosecutors to offer plea deals regardless of the merits of a case.

Borell was arrested June 29 and charged with the 43 counts of animal cruelty when he arrived at a farm in Mercer County that he had previously leased. At an earlier hearing Aug. 1, Borell entered a not-guilty plea to all charges. A second-degree animal-cruelty charge in Kentucky is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

Borell is the father of Maria Borell, the former trainer of 2015 sprint champion Runhappy. Mercer County prosecutors have also issued a warrant for Maria Borell’s arrest, but she is no longer a resident of the state, and officials have said that they will not seek extradition because the charges are misdemeanors.