You Don't Change Horses Mid-Race

Well, unless you're Calvin Borel, I guess.

So jockey Calvin Borel bailed on riding Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness in favor of riding the filly Rachel Alexandra. It was the first time in history that a jockey had done this, and, given that its been over 80 years since a filly won the Preakness, it seemed like a crazy move. But with Rachel Alexandra's win at Pimlico today, it looks like he made the right choice. A few thoughts about this:

1)Rachel Alexandra has to be entered in the Belmont. If that happens, I have no doubt that she'd be the favorite. Let's say that happens and Calvin Borel rides her to another victory; how is Borel celebrated? He'd be a Triple Crown winning jockey without a Triple Crown winning horse; as far as I know, that's never happened before. Would it be like Tiger winning all four majors in a row, but not doing it in the same calander year? Would it recognized and remembered the same as other Triple Crown wins? My gut tells me no, since we tend to only remember the horse, and not the rider. Which is too bad, because if Borel can win the Triple Crown riding different horses, it would be pretty amazing. Maybe he should ride a different horse althogther for the Belmont, just to try and nail the point home.

2)Mine That Bird finished second at the Preakness today, which I guess suggests that he wasn't a fluke two weeks ago at the Derby. A much like he did in the Derby, he started last in the field before charging all the way up to the front, eventually only losing by something like 3/4 length. In fact, given a little more time, I think Mine That Bird would have run her down and won. The Belmont is a 1 1/2 mile track, considerably longer than the Preakness's 1 3/16 mile. If they go head-to-head again in the Belmont, I think I'd put my money on Mine That Bird. The extra length gives him the edge.

3)Finally, its usually a bad thing for horse racing when there isn't a horse running for the Triple Crown, but I actually think that this situation is good for the sport. You've still got Calvin Borel's Triple Crown quest, which is intriguing in its uniquness, plus the Mine That Bird-Rachel Alexandra rematch. Its all about giving the viewers something worth watching, and the Belmont will have plenty of that.