Oaklawn: Borel rehabbing with broken bone

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Jockey Calvin Borel, one win shy from career victory 5,000 but now sidelined several weeks from reaching the milestone after having been found to have a broken bone in his left wrist, will likely make his return to riding at Oaklawn, said his agent, Jerry Hissam, although there is a chance the comeback could come at Fair Grounds.

Borel, who is rehabbing at Hot Springs, won the 4,999th race of his career at Fair Grounds on Dec. 28 aboard Malibu High, a promising young horse trained by his brother Cecil Borel. Cecil Borel said the horse’s next start will come in the Lecomte at Fair Grounds or the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn.

“That’s part of the life of it,” said Hissam of the injury, noting the bone was the 41st that Borel has broken in a riding career that has included three victories in the Kentucky Derby.

Hissam said Borel believed he had sprained his wrist a few mornings earlier. He said when the rider went home Tuesday after working horses he picked up something and heard his wrist pop. From there, the wrist swelled and he went to see a doctor. He has been fitted with a cast.