ANDERSON — Two-time Kentucky Derby winner Calvin Borel was right at home at Hoosier Park’s 15th annual Indiana Derby on Saturday.
The jockey, who also won this year’s Preakness Stakes, said Hoosier Park’s tightly-cornered track with long straightaways — what he called a bullring track — reminded him of the track in Louisiana where he grew up and learned to ride.
“It’s a track like where I come from,” Borel said Saturday after finishing the first of his three races. “I do good when I come here, and I’m really kind of honored.”
Hoosier Park patrons felt honored to see Borel as a jockey at their hometown track; as he walked from the winner’s circle to the jockeys’ facilities after coming in second in his first race, fans requested photos with him and asked him about upcoming races.
Hoosier Park General Manager of Racing Jeffrey Smith said having Borel ride the Indiana Derby in the same year he won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness was a big deal.
“It’s just huge,” Smith said. “It’s really such a huge treat for us and for the track and all our fans. He’s such a great person. He’s a genuine person, and he just worked hard to get where he is.”
The friendly and Cajun-accented Borel rode in three races Saturday, and came in fifth on horse Sumo in the Indiana Derby, which had a $500,000 purse. After his first race Saturday, Borel said he felt good about the track and about the horses he would ride.
“I think (Sumo) will run good,” he said. “If he handles this track good.”
Although Saturday wasn’t his first time riding at Hoosier Park, it was Borel’s first visit to Anderson since he won two of the three Triple Crown races this year. He won the Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird and the Preakness on filly Rachel Alexandra to become to only jockey ever to win two Triple Crown races on different mounts.
Since the wins, Borel’s life has been a whirlwind.
“I’ve been all over the world,” he said. “Me and my wife really are just really kind of enjoying it. It’s been an enjoyable trip. The goals we did this year were unbelievable.”
Borel credits Rachel Alexandra with much of his success.
“It’s every jock’s dream to have one like her and to win the derby twice,” he said.
Reaching his goals of winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness this year did little to slow down the jockey, however. Instead, he has been just as busy racing as ever.
“I’m just really riding to ride, enjoying myself,” he said. “You got to keep going. You try to find another (race). That’s the name of the game.”
Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.
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