Calvin H. Borel (born November 7, 1966) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the

2009 Kentucky Derby The 2009 Kentucky Derby was the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. The value of the race was $2,177,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by Yum! Brands and hence officially was called ''Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.'' The race took ...

and the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby win with

Mine That Bird Mine That Bird (foaled May 10, 2006) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducte ...

was the third biggest upset in Derby history, (after

Donerail Donerail (1910 – after 1918) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was the upset winner of the 1913 Kentucky Derby. His win stands as the biggest longshot victory in the history of the Kentucky Derby. Going off at 91–1, Donerail pro ...

and Rich Strike), and Borel's winning margin of lengths was the greatest in Derby history since

Assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

won by 8 lengths in 1946. On May 1, 2009, Borel won the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred Filly, fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky O ...

aboard

Rachel Alexandra Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

, only the second time since 1993 that a jockey has won the Oaks-Derby combo, and just the seventh time overall a jockey has accomplished this feat in the same year. On May 16, 2009, Borel won the 2009

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

with thoroughbred filly

. In doing so, Borel became the first jockey to win the first two jewels of the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

on different mounts. Borel's nickname is "Bo'rail'" due to his penchant for riding close to the rail to save ground.

Life and career

Calvin Borel hails from south

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

: the heart of

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

Country and famous for having produced a number of top jockeys, such as

Randy Romero Randy Paul Romero (December 22, 1957 – August 29, 2019) was a Hall of Fame jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J. Romero was a Louisiana state trooper who trained A ...

Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year with 598 wins in 1989. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes ...

Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby ...

and

Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs. Sellers won several national ...

. Borel began racing horses in the

bush track Bush track is a term used in horse racing to describe unsanctioned, informal horse races run in rural areas of the United States and southern Canada. Quarter horses, ridden by amateur jockeys, are raced on makeshift tracks, often set up in the fiel ...

s near his hometown of Catahoula and started riding in match races at the age of eight. He is known for his Cajun accent and bubbly and emotional personality, both of which were on full display during his post-victory interview after all three of his Kentucky Derby wins. Borel's older brother, Cecil, had a brief career as a thoroughbred jockey but was not able to maintain his weight. He turned to training horses at Delta Downs in

Vinton, Louisiana Vinton is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,400 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area. History The Old Spanish Trail, which was neither old nor Spanish, wandered north and ...

. Calvin began his professional riding career at Delta Downs. Over a career spanning 25 years, Borel has become known for his tireless work ethic as well as an ability to slip up the rail to save ground. His colleagues and racing fans therefore frequently refer to him as "Calvin Bo-rail". Borel is and . He lives in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. His riding career began to surge in June 2006 when he won the $750,000

Stephen Foster Handicap The Stephen Foster Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt run annually in mid-June at Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is named in ...

at Churchill Downs with 91–1 longshot Seek Gold, getting up in the final stride to win by a nose over Perfect Drift and paying $185.40 to win. That year was his big break when he won his first

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

on Street Sense in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup ...

. Borel then won the 2007

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

aboard Street Sense, guiding the colt to a length victory over

Hard Spun Hard Spun (foaled May 10, 2004 near Malvern, Pennsylvania) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Background Hard Spun is a bay horse with a white star standing 16.2 hands high. He is from one of ...

. He next had a close second-place finish aboard Street Sense in the Preakness Stakes to

Curlin Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 ...

. On July 5, 2007, Borel became the sixth jockey in the history of Churchill Downs to win six races on a single race card. With his victory in the July 5, 2008

Bashford Manor Stakes The Bashford Manor Stakes is a six furlong sprint for two-year-old thoroughbred horses run each year toward the end of the Spring meet at Churchill Downs. It is a Listed race on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $100,000, (plus $7,500 add ...

, he became the thirty-fourth jockey in

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

Thoroughbred racing history to win 4,500 races. May 2, 2009, saw Borel win the Kentucky Derby on

, a 50–1 long shot, a day after winning the

aboard favorite

. It was only the second time since 1993 that a jockey has won the Oaks-Derby combo, and he was just the seventh jockey overall to accomplish this feat in the same year. On May 16, 2009, Borel won the Preakness Stakes on

(after that horse was sold following the Derby). This accomplishment marked the first time that a jockey won the first two legs of the Triple Crown on different horses, and Borel, with a win in the Belmont, could become the first Triple Crown winner since

Steve Cauthen Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960) is a retired American jockey. In 1977 he became the first jockey to win over $6 million in a year working with agent Lenny Goodman, and in 1978 he became the youngest jockey to win the U. S. ...

accomplished it in 1978 on Affirmed. A win would have made him only the second individual to win the Triple Crown by sweeping the races with different horses ( D. Wayne Lukas, a trainer, also did so in 1995). However, on June 6, 2009, Borel finished third on Mine That Bird in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

, failing to accomplish a jockey Triple Crown. On June 27, 2009, he guided Rachel Alexandra to a victory in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park, setting a new stakes record, the only horse to break a record held by the great filly Ruffian. Borel then rode her to a six-length victory over

winner Summer Bird in the

Haskell Invitational The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth ...

. On September 5 of the same year, he rode Rachel Alexandra to a historic victory in the Woodward Stakes. It was the first time a filly of any age had won that storied race. Borel was named the winner of the 2010

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional condu ...

. On May 1, 2010, he rode Super Saver to win his 3rd Kentucky Derby in a 4-year span, the first jockey ever to do so. After winning the race, Borel promised he would win the Triple Crown in 2010 but he lost the Preakness. On June 4, 2010, Borel became only the second jockey to win 1,000 career races at Churchill Downs, joining Hall of Famer Pat Day. On March 7, 2013, Borel earned his 5,000th victory at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas while riding Hezunusual in the 6th race. He dedicated the win to his agent of over 20 years, Jerry Hissam who retired that year due to chronic pancreas issues after undergoing gall bladder surgery. Borel is the 26th North American jockey to reach 5000 victories. Borel was inducted into the

Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is the hall of fame and museum for sports in Arkansas, United States. The hall of fame inducted its first class in 1959. The hall's museum is located on the west end of the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. ...

in 2011 and to the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 2013. Borel played himself in the 2014 feature film '' 50 to 1'', about Mine that Bird's 2009 Kentucky Derby win. On March 30, 2016, Borel announced he would be retiring from horse racing. However, on August 15, he came out of retirement.

Legal issues

On August 20, 2011, Borel was arrested in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

for allegedly driving while intoxicated. On August 26, 2019, Borel was arrested in

Corydon, Indiana Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana. Located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana, it is the seat of government for Harrison County. Corydon was founded in 1808 and served ...

for allegedly driving while intoxicated after police saw him driving the wrong way on a street.

Riding titles

Delta Downs Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino and Hotel is an American thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana in the southwest portion of the state. The facility is owned by Boyd Gaming. ...

(1985, 1986, 1987) *

Louisiana Downs Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack is a horse racing track and racino located in Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. It opened in 1974. The casino features over 800 slot machines. The track specification is a dirt track of & turf course of . ...

(1991, 1992, 1994) *

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Plantation may refer to: * Oaklawn (Huntsville, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) * Oaklawn Plantation (Leon County, Florida) *Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana) The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic ...

(1995, 2001) * Ellis Park (1995, 2011) *

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

Fall meet (1999, 2006, 2009), Spring meet (2010) *

Turfway Park Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), ...

(2000) *

Kentucky Downs Kentucky Downs is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee, in the city of Franklin, Kentucky, just off Interstate 65. It is unique among American tracks in that it is a European-style course—its su ...

(2005)

Year-end charts

References

External links

Calvin Borel's Derby win featured inside and on the cover of Stride Magazine

Athlete Chat: Calvin Borel Interview after 2009 Kentucky Derby

Calvin Borel profile at the NTRA

Calvin Borel is interviewed about his Career, Childhood, and 2009 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks wins

Equibase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borel, Calvin American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Cajun jockeys People from St. Martinville, Louisiana 1966 births Living people Jockeys from Louisville, Kentucky