Preakness Stakes – Borel, Not Super Saver, Is the Favorite at Pimlico

Preakness Stakes betting hasn’t started yet as the Kentucky Derby was just held at Churchill Downs last weekend, with Super Saver coming away with a muddy victory in the “Run For The Roses”.  But it’s not the horse that is the reason while he should emerge as the favorite in the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, it’s the jockey who is as hot as anyone has ever been on a thoroughbred.

Borel, the diminutive jockey from Louisiana, has now won three of the last four winners in the Kentucky Derby, and he came up just short of the Triple Crown in 2009.  After winning the Kentucky Derby with Mine That Bird in the biggest upset in 85 years, Borel went on to take Rachel Alexandra to the finish line in the Preakness Stakes.  Rachel Alexandra was the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924, and ironically, it was Mine That Bird that came second to Borel and Rachel Alexandra.  Borel got back in the saddle with Mine That Bird for the Belmont Stakes to go for his own version of the Triple Crown, but he came in third behind Summer Bird and Dunkirk.  So, you can see why betting on Borel is like taking the Lakers’ NBA odds.

Super Saver wasn’t really being thought of in the discussion for the Kentucky Derby favorites, and most odds had him as being a mid-pack horse, until Borel was announced as the jockey for the horse, along with a rainstorm which turned the surface at Churchill Downs into a peanut butter-like substance.  With the rain leveling the playing field, it actually gave Borel an advantage because of his ability to get the horse to the rail, which is the shortest way around the track.  Indeed, they don’t call him “Calvin Bo-rail” for nothing.  He has the same formula going into any race, particularly at Churchill Downs, which is very similar to the track he grew up on Louisiana.  The pre-race co-favorite, and stand-alone favorite for most of the build-up to the Derby, Lookin At Lucky, was dealt a bad hand as he drew the rail for the post position, and he couldn’t beat the field to the turn, which put him back in the pack.  This means that Borel and Super Saver, who rose up to the status of co-favorites, had their biggest challenger taking out before the race even started, and it was on from there.  Like the Lakers’ NBA championship odds, look for Borel to be near the top of the list once again next year, no matter what horse he’s on.

So, in closing, before you go to make your Preakness States bet next week, just look for whichever horse Calvin Borel is riding.  Chances are, that horse will be the betting favorite.