NOTEBOOK Kentucky Derby

Borel back in Derby: Calvin Borel’s chance to become the first jockey to win consecutive Kentucky Derbys in 25 years lives on. When trainer Todd Pletcher decided to have Lexington Stakes winner Behindatthebar skip the Derby and focus on the Preakness, it opened the door for Borel’s ride, Denis of Cork. Behindatthebar was 17th on the graded-stakes earnings list, which determines who runs in the race if more than 20 are entered. Denis of Cork, which ran fifth in the Illinois Derby, was 21st. The move means Borel has a shot at becoming the first jockey since Eddie Delahoussaye in 1982 and 1983 to win two straight Derbys. It’s been a whirlwind year for the jockey since he rode Street Sense so expertly to victory in the Derby last May. While he’d been preparing for the moment his entire life, he wasn’t exactly prepared for what happened next. Days after the biggest win of his career, Borel found himself being introduced to Queen Elizabeth II at a black-tie dinner at the White House, where he rubbed elbows with Peyton Manning. It was all a bit much for the aw-shucks Louisiana native whose tireless work ethic and thick Cajun drawl have made him a popular fixture on the backside. “It was something else, it changed my life,” Borel said. “A lot of time, a lot of riders don’t have patience, you get disgusted. I’ve been up. I’ve been down. But I always hung in there.”

Quiet time: Trainer Barclay Tagg didn’t complain when he found himself tucked away in Barn 48 at the far end of the backside at Churchill Downs. The barn’s position just outside Gate 10 is well removed from the bustling backside media center, with its TV crews and radio stations and carnival-type barkers hawking everything from bourbon to Derby memorabilia. Things were nice and quiet as Derby entrant Big Truck walked the shedrow following a “perfect” five-furlong working in 59.4 seconds Monday morning. Keeping a routine during the most insane week of the year is a lesson Tagg learned while dealing with finicky 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide.

Associated Press