The verdict came down last week, but the story is far from over.

On March 10, Judge George J. Pulver Jr. found prominent New York Thoroughbred owner and breeder Ernest Paragallo guilty on 33 separate counts of animal neglect. The charges arose from the April 2009 seizure of 177 horses, many severely malnourished, from Paragallo’s Center Brook Farm near Albany. It took almost a year for the case to proceed from seizure of the horses to a trial and verdict. That sounds like a very long time, but investigation and preparation for trial by both sides is a time-consuming process. Paragallo is free on bail, with sentencing scheduled in two months, on May 18. His attorney reported plans to appeal the guilty verdict