Calvin Borel at Kentucky Derby: Jockey's Record of Success Makes Him a Contender

Take Charge Indy might not be the fastest horse and he might not have the most impressive resume, but he does have Calvin Borel, and that might be even better.

Behind every great race horse, there is a great jockey, and Borel might very well be the best of the best. He's won the Kentucky Derby three times in the last five years, making whatever horse he rides an automatic contender, even if his odds aren't good.

Take Charge Indy will start from Gate 3 and currently boasts 10-1 odds, but that's meaningless to Borel. He did, after all, win with Mine That Bird, whose odds were 50-1. 

Each year, when the Derby rolls around, Borel's situation is a bit unorthodox. Instead of seeking out a horse to ride at Churchill Downs, he is often approached by trainers who want him to ride their horse. One look at his track record reveals why.

In essence, he has his pick of the litter, and there's a reason he chose Take Charge Indy in 2012. 

He saw the horse for the first time at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year, where he finished fifth. He saw something he liked, and shortly thereafter, he rode the horse to a win in the Florida Derby, despite 13-1 odds. In that race, they beat Derby contender Union Rags.

Though Borel doesn't take much of the credit when his horses run well, he knows how to pick the one that will make him look good. In choosing Take Charge Indy, he found a horse who reminded him of Street Sense, one of his former champions—"nothing messes with him," he told ESPN.com's Joe DePaulo. 

In discussing Take Charge Indy, Borel added, "When you ride those kind of horses, it makes you look good. It picks up your confidence. There's not many good horses in this world. They come few and far apart."

Like many of Borel's former partners in crime, Take Charge Indy isn't commandeering all the attention prior to the race, but Borel believes he can finish the Derby the same way he has in three of the last five years: with a win.

There's no sense in second-guessing Borel's judgement. He's proven that he knows a good horse when he sees one.