Calvin Borel: Remembering His Roots

Calvin Borel on Street Sense, the first of his three Kentucky Derby winners in four years. (Photo by HorsePhotos)
Editor's note: According to reports, Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel has retired as of March 30, 2016.
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
Calvin Borel readily admits to being poorly educated, and yet his knowledge of horses is as deep as the ocean is vast.
In a world filled with artificiality and superficiality, a world that emphasizes style, Borel is as real, as substantial, as it gets.
In a world that seems to be too often marred by broken promises and disloyalty, Borel’s bond with his agent, Jerry Hissam, is as unbreakable as they come.
Borel’s willingness to learn horses from the ground up, his character and his loyalty all contributed to his rise from humble Cajun roots in Louisiana to his induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2013.
During a recent interview, Borel reflected on his standing as the only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby three times in a four-year span, his 5,000-plus career victories, his historic rides aboard Rachel Alexandra and his racing immortality as a member of the Hall of Fame. “I had an awesome career,” he said. “When you can sit back and look in the cabinet and have three Derby trophies and the Hall of Fame, it brings back very good memories. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.”
BOREL WINNING THE PREAKNESS ON RACHEL ALEXANDRA

Borel, 48, began riding in match races when he was 8. He never loses sight of the people who played a major role in his development. His brother, Cecil, a trainer, taught him so much about horses, how to put them at ease on the way to the starting gate, how to fill them with confidence that they could meet the demands of the race together.
He will always feel indebted to Carl Nafzger, a trainer who had much to do with his Derby success. It was Nafzger who was rightly convinced that Borel was the perfect fit for Street Sense and that they would accomplish big things together, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the 2007 Kentucky Derby, a sweep not accomplished before or since.
Borel said of his association with Nafzger and his magical ride with Street Sense: “We brought the horse up together, me and him, and it was amazing. I knew I would never get taken off the horse, and I rode the horse with a lot of confidence.”
Nafzger – “Mr. Carl” as Borel refers to him – also added to Borel’s confidence when Mine That Bird vanned in from New Mexico for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Past performances did not flatter Mine That Bird, but “Mr. Carl” had always told Borel that horses are on rather even footing in the Derby because of the large field, a roaring crowd that annually exceeds 100,000 spectators, and the fact that no 3-year-old was ever asked to run a mile-and-a-quarter before as required on the first Saturday in May.
Borel said of Mine That Bird: “Coming into the race, I thought he could compete.”
That belief translated into one of the great upsets in the history of the Run for the Roses.
Borel was in the right place at the right time when Super Saver provided him with his third Derby triumph in four years. Super Saver blossomed in the weeks leading to the opening leg of the Triple Crown, and relished a muddy track at Churchill Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher.
BOREL AFTER WINNING THE DERBY ON SUPER SAVER

The rider’s accomplishments aboard Rachel Alexandra are the stuff of legend. After barely nudging her when she was the runaway queen of the Kentucky Oaks, he wisely left Mine That Bird to ride her in the 2009 Preakness, where she became the first filly to win that race in 85 years. They teamed for an emphatic victory in the Haskell Invitational before Rachel Alexandra, with Borel asking her for every ounce of strength she possessed, emerged as the only filly to defeat older males in the history of the Woodward Stakes. 
Borel feels as though he is living a dream every day. “I love riding. I love coming out in the morning,” he said. “I love what I do.”
In other words, he is having way too much fun to retire any time soon.
Fun Facts

Pulled one of the great upsets in Churchill Downs history when 91-1 Seek Gold won the Stephen Foster Handicap in 2006.
Met the Queen of England when he was invited to a formal dinner at the White House following Street Sense’s Kentucky Derby victory in 2007.
Won six races in a single card at Churchill Downs on July 5, 2007.
Earned 5,000th career victory at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., on March 7, 2013. Dedicated win to Jerry Hissam, his long-time agent, who was ailing at the time.
Borel played himself in the film “50 to 1,” which revolved around Mine That Bird’s Derby upset in 2009.