Oaklawn Park-Coady Photography
HOT SPRINGS, AR (Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012) - Jockey Calvin Borel, a two-time leading rider at Oaklawn and a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, will return to Hot Springs beginning Saturday, February 4 after starting the year riding at Gulfstream Park in South Florida.
"Calvin and I have been together 21 years and felt we owed it to each other to try Florida," said Borel's agent Jerry Hissam. "He called me the other night and asked if I wanted to go back to Arkansas and of course I said yes. We're both ready to get back home and he's ready to do some fishing."
If past seasons are any indication, Borel can expect many trips to the winner's circle between those runs to the fishing hole. His experience and connections at Oaklawn are part of what propelled the 45-year-old native of Louisiana's Cajun Country to horse racing's biggest stages in the past six years.
"Oaklawn is where we have had some of our greatest successes. It's there we secured the relationship with Rachel Alexandra and earned the mount on Super Saver, our third Kentucky Derby winner. We've been blessed to ride some good horses here, but there will probably be more opportunities to ride at home. We hope to come back to Florida for stakes races and are particularly excited about the three-year-old Take Charge Indy. We'd like to see him come for either the Rebel or Arkansas Derby."
Borel is one of the most successful jockeys in the history of the Kentucky Derby, winning the race three out of four years. His first winner was Street Sense in 2007, followed by longshot Mine That Bird in 2009 and Arkansas Derby runner-up Super Saver in 2010. He made headlines in 2009 when he opted to ride Rachel Alexandra over Mine That Bird in the Preakness and won the race with the filly, who went on to be named Horse of the Year at the end of that season.
(Source: Oaklawn)
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