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Boo-Boo calls it quits

Catahoula's Calvin Borel to race no more

Calvin “Boo-Boo” Borel, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and Catahoula native, has ridden his last race.
His agent, Larry Melancon, told the racing press that Borel informed him of his decision to retire in a phone call on Tuesday, March 29.
Melancon said he was surprised by the decision since Borel was scheduled for several upcoming races in Arkansas.
“I said, ‘What? When?’” Melancon told reporters. “Now,” Borel replied.
“He kind of choked up and said, ‘I can’t talk,’ so he hung up,” Melancon said.
In his final race, Borel finished fourth on Mud Light in the March 26 Gazebo Stakes at Oaklawn, in Hot Springs, Ark. His final win was aboard Thrylos at Oaklawn on March 18.
His successes over a 33-year career have make Borel, 49, a multimillionaire. According to Equibase.com, a source for horse racing results and statistics, Borel ranks 27th all-time by number of wins with 5,146, and 32nd by earnings with the horses he rode winning a total of $127,087,376.
He won the Kentucky Derby on Street Sense in 2007, Mine That Bird in 2009, and Super Saver in 2010. He won the Preakness Stakes with Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Borel was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
After his 2007 Derby win, he was invited to a state dinner at the White House, rubbing elbows with President George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II.
“He’s one of only nine jockeys that have won more than 5,000 races and four of those Triple Crown Classics,” said Darren Rogers, communications director at Borel’s home base of Churchill Downs.
Known as “Boo-Boo” in Catahoula, racing aficionados call him “Bo-Rail” for his propensity to take the absolute shortest route around the track – which was very much on display when he won the Derby with Mine that Bird, a 50-1 long shot, in 2009.
He is also a sentimental favorite, thanks to his humility, humor and famous grin. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Lisa Funk.

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