The Return of Calvin Borel

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Does the name of Calvin Borel sound familiar to you?

He's a jockey from Louisiana, and, even if you only pay attention to horse racing in the five weeks of the Triple Crown, Borel's name should sound familiar to you. He's a Hall of Famer, a three–time winner of the Kentucky Derby; in 2009, he won the Preakness as well and became the first jockey to win the first two races of the Triple Crown on different horses.

In fact, when he won the Preakness (exactly five years ago this Friday), Borel rode a filly, Rachel Alexandra. It wasn't the first time that a filly won the Preakness, but it was the first time in 85 years.

It is important to know that because Borel apparently will be trying to duplicate horse racing history in this Saturday's running of the Preakness. It was reported yesterday that Borel will be riding another filly, Ria Antonia.

The immediate plans for the filly, who recently changed owners, were uncertain initially, but Jennie Rees of USA Today reports that "[a]n impressive workout Sunday under Calvin Borel seemed to seal the deal."

Meanwhile, Kentucky Derby winner and presumptive Preakness favorite California Chrome arrived in Baltimore Monday. He seemed to enjoy the attention he received, writes Childs Walker in the Baltimore Sun.

He's getting plenty of attention from other owners who would like to puncture the Triple Crown balloon. As I observed following the Kentucky Derby, the comparatively leisurely pace of the Kentucky Derby might encourage the owners of speed horses to challenge California Chrome in Baltimore.

Is that what is happening? Is Ria Antonia a speed horse who might be capable of challenging California Chrome?

Her new trainer isn't saying, only that he see the Preakness as being California Chrome vs. the field. If he is able to run the race his way, he will win. But if he is thrown off by something or someone, all bets are off.

Speaking of bets, according to the odds posted yesterday, the pending odds against Ria Antonia are 32–1. If the odds are unchanged Saturday afternoon, and Borel rides Ria Antonia to victory, it will be a big story — but it won't be the biggest story in Borel's career. Two weeks before he rode Rachel Alexandra to victory in the Preakness, he rode Mine That Bird, a 50–to–1 shot, to a huge upset win in the Kentucky Derby.

Borel rode Ride On Curlin in this year's Kentucky Derby on May 3, finishing seventh. Ride On Curlin will be in the Preakness field this Saturday, but Joel Rosario, who rode General A Rod to an 11th–place finish at Churchill Downs, will replace Borel.

(General A Rod has been confirmed for the race, too. Javier Castellano, who rode the winner in the 2006 Preakness, will be on board.)

Triple Crown Drought Continues

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Rachel Alexandra outran the boys at Pimlico today.

If you read my previous post, I picked all three of the top finishers in today's Preakness. But I had them in the wrong order.

I picked Mine That Bird to win, Musket Man to place and Rachel Alexandra to show.

Rachel Alexandra actually won the race. Mine That Bird placed. Musket Man was third.

It was the first time a filly had won the Preakness in 85 years. But the Triple Crown drought, which began more than three decades ago, goes on.

One of those streaks had to end today.

So there will be no Triple Crown winner this year — although we might have to put an asterisk next to the year 2009 in the annals of horse racing because the same jockey, Calvin Borel, has won the first two races. He just won on different horses.

I don't think it's ever come up before, but Borel might win all three Triple Crown races — but not on the same horse. Would he be considered a Triple Crown winner by himself?

In the three weeks until the Belmont, I'm sure someone will explore the possibility. But at least one sports writer, Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier–Journal, says Borel "deserves his Muhammad Ali moment."

Well, he deserves to savor what he has done so far — win or lose in three weeks.

The Baltimore Sun reports that attendance was down more than 30% over last year and was the lowest it has been in 26 years. One can only imagine what the absence of a Triple Crown possibility will do to the gate receipts and overall wagers on the Belmont three weeks from today.

But the folks in Baltimore saw a pretty exciting race this afternoon.

The Battle of the Sexes

Well, that is what they are calling today's 134th Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore.

The battle of the sexes.

In a way, I suppose, that's an appropriate label for today's race, matching as it does the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird, and the fabulous filly, Rachel Alexandra, that apparently has stolen the hearts of the betting public along with Mine That Bird's jockey.

And the guys in the pressbox seem equally taken with Rachel Alexandra. The filly, writes Tim Layden in Sports Illustrated, could be the fastest horse in the field, regardless of gender. And she has Calvin Borel — her regular rider who rode Mine That Bird to a stunning win in the Derby.

In fact, Borel rode Rachel Alexandra to a 20–length victory the day before the Derby

For some reason, it just doesn't seem like the battle of the sexes to me, perhaps because the battle features animals and not humans. If one of the jockeys was a girl, I might feel differently about it. But Mike Smith will be aboard Mine That Bird today.

Kevin Van Valkenburg of the Baltimore Sun says this is Mine That Bird's moment of truth. And indeed it is. In a couple of hours, the horses will run and we will resolve the storyline that I think is the real theme of the day: Is Mine That Bird the real deal? Will he reward the believers? Or will he confirm what the skeptics have been saying?

And there are plenty of skeptics who feel that a 50–1 shot got lucky when a "perfect storm unfolded" on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.

The odds haven't changed much. According to the Morning Line, Rachel Alexandra is a 8–5 pick. Pioneerof the Nile, the second–place finisher in the Derby, is 5–1. Mine That Bird is 6–1. So is Friesan Fire, which was a favorite at the Derby but ended up far back in the pack. Musket Man, the show horse in the Derby, is 8–1.

All the other horses — there are 13 running today — are getting odds of 10–1 or higher.

I'll be honest. I would like to see a Triple Crown winner. When I was a teenager, they were commonplace. Between 1973 and 1978, there were three Triple Crown winners — Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978). Great horses. I remember watching them run.

Is Mine That Bird worthy of becoming only the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown? We'll find out a lot in less than two hours now.

I'm going to predict that he is. I was impressed with Borel's work as the jockey two weeks ago, but I've seen Smith ride before, and I think he is capable of riding Mine That Bird to victory.

I'm not convinced of Rachel Alexandra's speed, but I've never seen her run. If I was at the track today, I would put $2 on her to show. If she has a duel with Mine That Bird that conjures memories of the epic Affirmed–Alydar battles, I'd be willing to bet her higher at the Belmont in three weeks.

But I'm going to pick Musket Man to come in second.

So my picks are:

1. Mine That Bird


2. Musket Man


3. Rachel Alexandra

Enjoy the race.

Will There Be a Triple Crown Winner in '09?

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In a thrilling finish, Affirmed edged Alydar in the 1978 Preakness
and captured the second jewel in the Triple Crown.

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There hasn't been a Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred racing since 1978.

There have been several near–misses in the last three decades. Last year's was noteworthy. Big Brown won the first two races and was proclaimed by racing observers to be a virtual lock to win the Belmont and wrap up the Triple Crown. But fate intervened.

Nearly two weeks ago, Mine That Bird, with jockey Calvin Borel aboard, ran to the second–biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history, and racing fans have been wondering if he can capture the elusive Triple Crown. But if he does, he will have to win at least the Preakness with a different jockey. Borel won't be riding Mine That Bird this Saturday. He will be riding Rachel Alexandra, the controversial filly that is currently a 9–5 pick to become the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924.

Jockey Mike Smith will be riding Mine That Bird, presently a 9–2 pick, in Saturday's race. Even though Mine That Bird is one of the favorites in this race — unlike the 50–1 shot he was two weeks ago — the filly has been turning some heads.

Rick Maese writes, in the Los Angeles Times, that Mine That Bird's chances seem slimmer than the existence of UFOs. Whatever one thinks of Mine That Bird and his chances of ending the Triple Crown drought, it's an appropriate comparison, given his connections to Roswell, N.M.

You can find out more about the 13–horse field, as well as the weather and track conditions at Pimlico, here.