Trainer beat ‘beautiful’ racehorse in NY, then it died, feds say. He’s sentenced
A harness racing trainer from Canada was convicted on criminal mischief charges in connection with beating a racehorse that then died in 2023, New York prosecutors said.
Frederick Bourgault, the 27-year-old trainer, “was convicted of all charges against him” stemming from the beating death of a racehorse named Finish Line in July 2023, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in an April 7 news release.
Bourgault was sentenced to two to six years in prison and was also ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution, the district attorney said in a July 7 post on Facebook.
Bourgault now must register with an animal abuse registry managed by the Orange County Sheriff, prosecutors said at his July 7 sentencing hearing.
“The Orange County Legislature’s legislative findings when it passed Rocky’s Law stated, ‘The Legislature … finds and determines that individuals who abuse animals are statistically more likely to commit violent acts against humans and, in particular, the Legislature also determines that a strong correlation has been established linking individuals who abuse animals with incidents of domestic violence,’ and, I cannot agree more with that assessment,” District Attorney David M. Hoovler said in the post.
Bourgault pleaded guilty to attempted assault charges “for having attempted to cause physical injury to a woman using her cellphone” in a different case on June 25, prosecutors said. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in that case on Oct. 2.
The indictment in the horse death case said Bourgault was charged with criminal mischief in the second degree “for having ‘damaged’” Finish Line at the Pine Bush Training Facility in the town of Crawford. The horse had an estimated value of at least $5,000, officials said.
Bourgault was accused of striking the horse with a heavy object and causing a linear depressed skull fracture — “which resulted in the horse having to be euthanized,” prosecutors said.
The indictment said Bourgault was also charged with interference with or injury to certain domestic animals, “a felony under the New York State Agriculture and Markets Act, for willfully or unjustifiably injuring or destroying a racehorse.”
The New York State Police, Orange County District Attorney’s Office and New York State Gaming Commission partnered on the investigation, which involved having the horse’s remains exhumed, officials said. Experts at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine examined the remains, and the gaming commission provided expert witnesses and coordinated with the New York State police to arrest Bourgault.
“The beautiful horse that was the victim of this defendant’s senseless act of violence deserved the justice that was delivered on his behalf,” District Attorney David M. Hoovler said in the release. “We will not, as a civilized society, allow abusers to bring harm to helpless animals.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Trainer beat ‘beautiful’ racehorse in NY, then it died, feds say. He’s sentenced."
