‘They weren’t supposed to be murdered’; Tioga Downs Arsonist rendered maximum sentence last Friday

By Wendy Post —

It has been just a little over five months since a fire set to the barns at Tioga Downs Racetrack in Nichols, N.Y. sent emotional shockwaves throughout the community, and especially the equine community. But on April 19, 2024 the arsonist, Boyd Fenton, appeared at the Tioga County Courthouse in Owego, N.Y. to face his sentence for the crimes committed.

Arriving for sentencing for Arson in the 3rd degree and Assault in the 2nd degree, both felonies, along with 30 counts of animal cruelty, Tioga County Judge Adam Schumacher rendered the maximum sentence for each.

For the Arson charge, Fenton will serve five-15 years; he will serve seven years for the Assault charge along with three years post-release supervision.

For the Animal Cruelty charges, all in violation of New York’s Ag and Market Law and considered felonies, Fenton received one and a third to four years for each count. The sentence for each charge will run concurrently, as New York State requires that crimes resulting from another act, in this case setting a fire, be served as such.

Following the charges Fenton waived his right to a restitution hearing, with the court adjourning soon after.

Rewind to 12:30 p.m. last Friday, and prior to the sentencing, where media gathered outside of the courthouse hoping to capture a photo of the handcuffed Fenton being led into court in shackles. Instead, Fenton was taken in on the other side of the courthouse, avoiding the cameras entirely.

Also outside the courthouse were several owners of horses that perished in the November 2023 fire. Among those waiting were Mindy Findling Repko and Jan Repko, originally from Sullivan County, Pa. and now living in Indiana and Florida. The couple lost five horses in the Nov. 9, 2023 fire.

Market Mayhem, Mc Mach, Violence, Ruff Montana Lane, and Hunts Point all lost their lives that morning when the fire was set at the barn, located along the backside of the track at Tioga Downs.

Mindy said she was in Indiana when she heard the news about the fire and the horses, a phone call that haunts her to this day.

“I screamed, and then I fell to the floor,” said Mindy, “I couldn’t function.”

And in her victim impact statement, offered to the court during the sentencing, she repeated that her horses were her children.

“You murdered our kids,” said Mindy, and as she looked directly at Fenton, who was sitting at a table near his attorney.

From observation, however, and through most of the sentencing, Fenton displayed little remorse, only bowing his head down on occasion and glancing now and then at Mindy as she delivered her victim impact statement.

“They weren’t supposed to be murdered,” she added.

Mindy did share, however, that in a twist of fate one of her horses was spared, Feelin’ American. According to Mindy, that horse was on vacation. She shared, during the victim impact statement, that Feelin’ American, as well as several other horses, were also grieving at the loss of their siblings.

“We had no way to explain why [the horses] were gone,” said Mindy.

For her, the days have been long and the nights hard.

“Every day, every night, every moment, all I hear is that the barn is on fire,” she explained, adding that she is in therapy for PTSD, depression, and can’t understand why, a sentiment shared by many on various social media platforms throughout the ordeal.

But her conviction was strong in court as she repeated, “I don’t know if I will ever understand what you did, to kill 30 horses and two cats.”

Again, Boyd Fenton sat emotionless and lacking remorse, possibly due to an acceptance of his fate as the sentence was already on the table as part of the plea deal.

While in town from Indiana for the sentencing of Fenton, Mindy and Jan visited the memorial where their “children” are buried behind the track at Tioga Downs Racetrack in Nichols, N.Y. Never having children, the horses filled that spot in their life.

They explained that not only did they lose their best friends, but they lost over $100,000 in equipment as well. They thanked the community, whom they said has been more than generous.

Another woman attending the sentencing, who chose to remain anonymous, was at the barns on the morning of the fire and described things, stating that there was nothing but black smoke and that there was no way to even get to the horses, that you could barely see the barn. This sight etched, as well, in her memory.

The equine and horse racing community rallied to support each other following the November fire, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and holding an emotion provoking “Memorial Walk” with their horses. Word of the tragedy spread like wildfire, and donations poured in to help relieve some of the unimaginable loss suffered.

In a conversation with the CEO of American Racing and Entertainment earlier this month, Jeff Gural, he spoke of the memorial site, and mentioned plans in the works to transform it into a place of remembrance. Stay tuned for the details.