Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel, a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, has informed his agent that he is retiring from the saddle.
Larry Melancon confirmed the news when reached by the Herald-Leader Wednesday morning saying that Borel’s decision caught him off guard.
“It caught me by surprise,” said Melancon, a former jockey who has represented Borel since last August. “That’s all I know.”
Borel is named on mounts at Oaklawn Park through April 2. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
A native of Louisiana, Borel’s career stands as a tribute to what a blue-collar work ethic and special ability could achieve at the highest level. From his roots in the Cajun bush tracks, Borel would go on to amass 5,146 wins according to Equibase since his start in 1983 with his greatest success coming in the final decade of his time in the irons.
His prowess at Churchill Downs earned him 1,189 wins beneath the Twin Spires, second only to legendary Pay Day in terms of all-time wins at the Louisville track. He earned the first of three Kentucky Derby wins aboard champion Street Sense in 2007, and that colt remains the only Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner to take the first leg of the Triple Crown.
In 2009, Borel crafted an epic ride that embodied his nickname of Bo-rail — inspired by his penchant for coming up the inside — when he guided longshot Mine That Bird to an improbable Kentucky Derby victory at odds of 50-to-1. One day earlier, Borel had ridden the brilliant filly Rachel Alexandra to a 20 length win in the Kentucky Oaks, giving him the rare Oaks-Derby sweep, and he would stick with his favorite girl weeks later when he guided her to a historic victory in the Preakness Stakes.
The following season would see more Derby accolades comes Borel’s way when he piloted WinStar Farm’s Super Saver to the win on the first Saturday in May, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his first Kentucky Derby victor.
“Personally, we were together for 24 years, and he was like a son to me,” said Jerry Hissam, Borel’s longtime agent who retired last year. “His success came strictly from extreme hard work that his brother [Cecil] laid on him and he’s done it. The run that we had was just unbelievable for both of us, and it all came from hard work on his side and a lot of hours put in by me.
“He’s won about every major stakes run at Arkansas, he’s second in number of wins at Churchill. He is just a pleasure to be around,” he said.
Borel and Hissam began their partnership in March 1991 and had immediate success, winning the meet title at Louisiana Downs and the $1 million Super Derby. In a sport where jockeys can switch agents multiple times throughout their career, the enduring relationship between Hissam and Borel was a unique one and one that was magnified when an ailing Hissam made sure he was in attendance to watch Borel inducted in Racing’s Hall of Fame in Saratoga in 2013.
“When he come in and saw me sitting there, that was unbelievable emotion between the two of us,” Hissam said. “To see him put that [Hall of Fame] coat on and walk up to that podium … it was just a tremendous day. Him and I would have never thought that a kid from Louisiana and a boy from West Virginia would end up participating in the Hall of Fame.
“I think the greatest moments of my career with him would be that we spent many mornings together in a business when most riders and agents don’t last very long together,” he said.
Borel, 49, has endured his share of injuries throughout his career including a broken fibula after being thrown from his mount in a race at Keeneland in October 2013, an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Throughout the highs and lows that came with the business, Borel’s positive attitude made him a fan favorite around the track and a mentor in the jockey’s room.
“He worked as hard as anybody I knew in this business, and he has faced the injuries about as well as anybody in this business,” Hissam said. “He’s just been an asset to the children in this business, and he’s been a public relations person for the business. All these years he was in the limelight, he was always welcome to sign something for somebody. He’s just one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.”
Borel retires with 852 graded stakes wins and career earnings of $127,087,376.
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