Calvin & Rachel in the Preakness

[PaceAdvantage]

I keep having this nagging thought that Calvin gave RA a sub-optimal ride in the Preakness.

Can someone explain to me the need to duel through the first six furlongs? Rachel isn't a need-to-lead type...she's come from just off the pace in the past and run very well...why not try and drop to the inside and stick a length or two off of Big Drama?

The more I think about his ride in the Preakness, the more I don't like it...

With all that said though, if I remember correctly, she did look like she was doing much of her early running well within herself, and not because of any extra encouragement from Borel, so perhaps my thoughts here are misguided...

I wouldn't have wanted him to try and wrangle her back either....

[Marshall Bennett]

Probably thought she was much the best , so send her to the lead . A lot less chance for traffic trouble or whatever else may happen . Wish KD had done that with BB in the Belmont last year . Why fight a horse that wants to run when they're much the best ., although in the end perhaps she wasn't " much ' the best . Just an opinion , many here know a lot more than I do ... I've even been told that . :)

[wisconsin]

She ran the same race that she ran in the Oaks, just outside the pace setter. She was going to wire these, if she could have. Could not clear, but I think Borel knew she would have enough, and she did.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I figured like yourself that BD would be out on the lead by possibly 2 lengths with RA sitting chilly and the whole field even more strung out.I was tearing up tickets in my mind after the first 1/4!!But who's to say BD doesn't get a little more headstrong if he's out there all alone??

I don't know.I've watched it a few times and can't decide either.

[Derbyman32]

I really think RA is rateable but maybe Calvin thinks she is way better on the lead? I would much rather see her be able to lay 2nd or 3rd in races latter on. If she can't rate they are sure to enter a rabbit destroy her chances. Would be really fun to see her rate off the rabbit and then draw away down the stretch.

[Imriledup]

I keep having this nagging thought that Calvin gave RA a sub-optimal ride in the Preakness.

Can someone explain to me the need to duel through the first six furlongs? Rachel isn't a need-to-lead type...she's come from just off the pace in the past and run very well...why not try and drop to the inside and stick a length or two off of Big Drama?

The more I think about his ride in the Preakness, the more I don't like it...

With all that said though, if I remember correctly, she did look like she was doing much of her early running well within herself, and not because of any extra encouragement from Borel, so perhaps my thoughts here are misguided...

I wouldn't have wanted him to try and wrangle her back either....

It was a world class ride. Spectacular. He had to use her hard to clear around everyone. If he dilly dallies, he might have been caught 7 wide. He didn't want to have more than 1 or 2 horses in front of him all the way. When you are the best horse, you don't play games, you get out there and race horses.

[Hank]

I keep having this nagging thought that Calvin gave RA a sub-optimal ride in the Preakness.

Can someone explain to me the need to duel through the first six furlongs? Rachel isn't a need-to-lead type...she's come from just off the pace in the past and run very well...why not try and drop to the inside and stick a length or two off of Big Drama?

The more I think about his ride in the Preakness, the more I don't like it...

With all that said though, if I remember correctly, she did look like she was doing much of her early running well within herself, and not because of any extra encouragement from Borel, so perhaps my thoughts here are misguided...

I wouldn't have wanted him to try and wrangle her back either....

The ride was fine, the inside speed had to send to avoid the pinch and RA had to be sent to avoid being hung wide,had she drawn better I'd wager Calvin would have loved to use the inside speed horse as a nice target for her.He played the hand he was dealt correctly.imo

[PaceAdvantage]

Ummm...no....there was plenty of room for RA to drop back a bit...I believe they were two lengths in front at the end of the first quarter...

He rode her like a need-to-lead...when she is not....

She won, so obviously the ride was good...I'm just saying, it probably could have been better, and it could have taken LESS out of her at the same time.

[pandy]

If you listened to Borel's interview, he clearly stated that he did not want that trip. He said that he didn't even want to pass all of the horses out of the gate but had planned on settling a bit further back, but she pulled him to the lead. Racing fans often complain about jockey's rides but they don't realize that horses are not cars, you don't have a gas pedal and break, if a horse is pulling itself to the lead, you can try to hold it back, and risk strangling the run out of it or worse, choking down, or you can let the horse have its way. Rachel Alexandra is a big, powerful racehorse, if she wants to go, you'd better let her go, and that's exactly what Calvin did.

Remember what happened when Gomez strangled Hard Spun back in the Belmont? Even he admitted afterwards (to his credit) that he screwed up. The same thing with Pino's ride on Smarty Jones in the Belmont, if you watch the race closely, you can see that when the pacesetters started to weakened, Smarty Jones started to pull himself to the lead, Pino had to let him go, but got criticized for doing so.

[Hank]

Ummm...no....there was plenty of room for RA to drop back a bit...I believe they were two lengths in front at the end of the first quarter...

He rode her like a need-to-lead...when she is not....

She won, so obviously the ride was good...I'm just saying, it probably could have been better, and it could have taken LESS out of her at the same time.

Ummm....Yes :D

If link is no good see Beyer's article regarding Borel's ride @drf.com

[PaceAdvantage]

Ummm....Yes :D

If link is no good see Beyer's article regarding Borel's ride @drf.comI'm not sure where Beyer is getting the "got into perfect striking position behind a horse [Big Drama] who was almost certain to tire" from...maybe I have to watch the race a fifth time, but I don't recall RA getting behind anyone in the Preakness...

Other than that, I can't disagree with Beyer's premise...heck, I basically contradicted myself in the opening post in this thread...

[Bobzilla]

I'm not sure where Beyer is getting the "got into perfect striking position behind a horse [Big Drama] who was almost certain to tire" from...maybe I have to watch the race a fifth time, but I don't recall RA getting behind anyone in the Preakness...

Other than that, I can't disagree with Beyer's premise...heck, I basically contradicted myself in the opening post in this thread...

You're right, other than the initial stages shortly after the break she was never behind any horse. The chart has her a head in front at the quarter, the half and half a length in front at 3/4. I'm only guessing but what I think Beyer may have been referring to was what Borel's strategy was going to be if her foe had been able to establish an early lead. I think RA's initial quickness from clearing TID and TTP carried her into her high cruise rhythm and Calvin found himself closer to BD than maybe he had anticipated. She appears to me to be running within her ability and I think Calvin probably felt at the time that wrangling her back might have been detrimental to their cause.

[cj's dad]

If you listened to Borel's interview, he clearly stated that he did not want that trip. He said that he didn't even want to pass all of the horses out of the gate but had planned on settling a bit further back, but she pulled him to the lead. Racing fans often complain about jockey's rides but they don't realize that horses are not cars, you don't have a gas pedal and break, if a horse is pulling itself to the lead, you can try to hold it back, and risk strangling the run out of it or worse, choking down, or you can let the horse have its way. Rachel Alexandra is a big, powerful racehorse, if she wants to go, you'd better let her go, and that's exactly what Calvin did.

Remember what happened when Gomez strangled Hard Spun back in the Belmont? Even he admitted afterwards (to his credit) that he screwed up. The same thing with Pino's ride on Smarty Jones in the Belmont, if you watch the race closely, you can see that when the pacesetters started to weakened, Smarty Jones started to pull himself to the lead, Pino had to let him go, but got criticized for doing so.


Pino rode HS
Stewart Elliot rode

[lamboguy]

i thought all you guys loved his ride!

[Bobzilla]

Pino rode HS
Stewart Elliot rode


Mario rode HS in the Derby and Preakness. His ride in the Preakness drew much criticism as many felt he had moved too soon. As a result Gomez found himself onboard HS in the Belmont, another ride that many second guessed for just the opposite reason. And of course Elliott never heard the end of it with his ride on Smarty Jones in the Belmont. Who the heck would ever want to be a jockey? Thay must really love what they do.

[PaceAdvantage]

i thought all you guys loved his ride!I wasn't sure (which you can see by reading my initial post here), which is why I started this thread.

I think I will conclude that Calvin gave the best ride possible under the circumstances. A more ideal ride would have been to drop behind Big Drama by about a length, but I think the filly would not allow that, and Calvin did the right thing in letting her run her own race.

[Bettowin]

Horseracing is king of the airchair quarterback:)

Did anyone wonder why MTB was much closer to the front in the Preakness than he was in the Derby? Maybe if he laid back 5 or 6 more lengths he would have had a more strung out field to make his move and could have come up the rail later? I haven't pulled the chart to compare but I wonder how fast MTB ran the last 3/8ths in the Preakness?