We always remember the horse that wins the Kentucky Derby but sometimes the Jockey gets lost in the shuffle of memory. Most people can tell you who Calvin Borel is because he is fresh on our minds from winning three of the last four Derbies, but I bet you can't remember who won the one Derby that Calvin didn;t? It was Kent Desormeaux on Big Brown. However, when you get twenty starters, as we have in the last several Derbies the best horse does not always win. In fact it's the horse that gets the best trip that wears the garland of roses, and if he happens to be the best horse, so much the better.
The Derby attracts the best three year olds in the world but it also attracts the best jockeys as well. My friend Chris McCarron, Gary Stevens, Pat Day, Jerry Bailey, Jose Santos, and Mike Smith just to mention a few, shared the Winners Circle with such Legends of yesteryear as Bill Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Jr., Bill Hartack, and Eddie Arcaro. These guys are household names in sports history. So, when we pick our Derby horse on Saturday just remember who the rider is because he may have as much to do with winning the race as the horse. No jockey can make a horse run faster than he can, the old saying goes "Did you ever see a jockey carry a horse across the finish line" but a little racing luck and a good ride can sure make a difference.
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