Kentucky Derby Winner Calvin Borel
The Louisiana Cajun Jockey Has Dominated Recent Runs for the Roses
May 3, 2009
According to Times-Picayune racing writer Bob Fortus, Calvin Borel began riding a family horse at two years old, raced at Louisiana bush tracks at eight years old, and quit school after the eighth grade to become a professional jockey.
"All I ever wanted to be was a jockey. A lot of kids make plans to be firemen, cowboys or astronauts, but I knew by eight that I wanted to ride races," he said.
He rode Street Sense to victory in the 2007 Kentucky Derby and guided Denis of Cork to a third place finish in 2008. In 2009 he won both the Kentucky Oaks for fillies with favorite Rachel Alexandra and the Derby with long shot Mine That Bird. He is only the second jockey in 16 years to win both the Oaks and the Derby.
Second Biggest Upset in Derby History
Mine That Bird’s victory was the second biggest upset in Derby history. But it wasn’t the biggest surprise that Borel has pulled. He rode Seek Gold to victory in the 2006 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs at 91-1 odds.
He began his professional career racing at the weekend bush tracks that once dotted south Louisiana. The whole Borel family would travel to see the match races. Then he moved on to Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs, the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Louisiana Downs near Shreveport.
It was the same Louisiana circuit that developed a long list of outstanding Cajun jockeys, including Eddie Delahoussaye, Kent Desormeaux, Randy Romero. Eric Guerin, Ronald Ardoin, Shane Sellers, Mark Guidry, Robby Albarado, Ray Sibille and E.J. Perrodin.
Evangeline Downs Near Carencro
Borel recalls his heartache after Evangeline Downs near Carencro was closed. As a kid, he lived eight summers in a tack room operated there by his brother, Cecil.
"When I passed there, I started crying," Borel told the Times Picayune.
He earned an early reputation for being a very hard worker, cleaning stalls, riding horses in morning workouts. Don Stemmans, who runs a Louisiana tack shop, said Borel "works and works and works. I saw him win the Arkansas Derby and then at Louisiana Downs the next morning, at 4:30 or 5 o'clock, he worked horses."
Fourteen Riding Titles
In July 2008 Borel became the 34th rider in North American history to win 4,500 races. He has won 14 riding titles at seven different tracks, including Louisiana Downs, Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs.
According to The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, by the time he rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby, the 42-year-old Borel’s 2009 earnings topped $3.6 million, with 41 wins in 297 starts.
Calvin was the youngest of five Borel brothers who grew up in Catahoula, Louisiana, in a house near his father’s sugar cane farm. He was quickly nicknamed "Boo Boo."
From Boo Boo To Bo-Rail
Later he became known to many racing fans as "Bo-rail" for his knack of riding the rail, an ability he displayed dramatically with both his 2007 and 2009 Kentucky Derby victories. He has ridden that rail to victory so often that Jerry Izenberg of The Star-Ledger in Jersey City calls it "Calvin’s Alley."
Borel has alternated his racing between Churchill Downs, Oaklawn Park, Louisiana Downs and the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Since becoming a regular rider at Churchill Downs, he has moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
References:
"Ride for Cajun Pride," by Bob Fortus, The Times-Picayune, 5/13/2007
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