Calvin Borel’s induction into the Racing Hall of Fame will be one of the highlights of the ceremony, especially to those who have followed his rise from the bush tracks of his native Louisiana to the heights of the sport. The 46-year-old jockey has long been regarded as one of the best riders on the Midwest circuit, but over the past 10 years, Borel has excelled on the national stage, posting three Kentucky Derby wins and receiving accolades for his work aboard 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.
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It’s a pretty exclusive club – just 20 living members – and many of them weren’t exactly household names when they showed up in Louisville. But when they left town, they were known far and wide in the world of sports as trainers who somehow got the job done in the game’s most unforgiving crucible. They had won the Kentucky Derby.
Every year, thousands of fans descend upon central Kentucky to admire their favorite Kentucky Derby winners as they enjoy their post-racetrack lives on the farm.
As it turns out, quite a few visit Roswell, N.M., to do the exact same thing.
As travelers enter the southeast New Mexico town, they are greeted by a sign welcoming them to the home of 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who resides at co-owner Mark Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey Calvin Borel is expected to make his comeback this weekend at Oaklawn Park. He is one win away from his 5,000th career victory, a milestone he has been on the verge of since he won an allowance at Fair Grounds in his most recent ride Dec. 28.
Sunland Park in New Mexico will open a 76-date meet Friday with a stern new policy on drug positives, qualifying races for both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks, and a stakes named for arguably its most famous alumnus, Mine That Bird.
Sunland is situated right next door to El Paso, Texas, and it will conduct a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses through April 16. The Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby and the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks will share a card March 24, which will offer seven stakes worth $1.4 million.
Mine That Bird has spent the past three weeks making the transition from racehorse to retiree at his new home, Double Eagle Ranch in Roswell, N.M.
“We’re still hand walking him to let him down,” said Leonard Blach, who co-owns the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner with Mark Allen. “He’s really relaxing and really settled in.
“He’s had quite a few visitors.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – They will scatter like the wind after the fall meet ends Sunday at Churchill Downs, departing for Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, and elsewhere. The horses, that is. One will even leave Monday morning on a van bound for New Mexico, completing a storybook circle that began a little more than 18 months ago.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mine That Bird has been retired after losing for the ninth straight time since he stunned the racing world by capturing the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1, co-owner Leonard Blach said Monday from his Buena Suerta Equine clinic in New Mexico.
“We don’t want to hurt him or disgrace him anymore,” said Blach, who owns Mine That Bird with his neighbor, Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch. “He’ll live out his days here at Double Eagle. We’ve got a special paddock and shed for him.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – D. Wayne Lukas nearly pulled off one of the biggest surprises of his Hall of Fame training career when Decelerator finished second, beaten less than a length by Hilda’s Passion, in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes last Saturday at Keeneland.
Decelerator was 73-1.
“I made a nice little bet on her because I thought she was coming into the race as good as she could be,” Lukas said early Tuesday outside his Churchill Downs barn. “I bet her win and place, so I guess I did okay.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It will be blinkers on and Calvin Borel off Mine That Bird when the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner takes on Quality Road and five others in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.
Rajiv Maragh, who has worked Mine That Bird the last two weeks, will be aboard him Saturday from post 2. Quality Road, beaten a head by Blame in the Whitney at 1-2 odds here Aug. 7, drew post 3 and will be ridden by John Velazquez. As the conditions of the Woodward are weight for age, all horses will carry 126 pounds.