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 CALVIN BOREL WINS HIS THIRD IN FOUR YEARS |
Two fine racetrack guys:
Don Zimmer & Calvin Borel
of TheColumnists.com
In the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, the NBC telecast Saturday showed a bit in which Bob Costas interviewed Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers manager. Torre was significant on this day because he had a share of ownership in the 27-1 longshot, Homeboykris (who would finish 16th).
Torre, who spoke from Los Angeles where he would be watching the race on TV, told about being introduced to horse racing by Don Zimmer, a pal. Zimmer produced some winnings for him that day and Torre was hooked. It reminded me of a time when Zimmer was a coach for Yankee manager Torre, and I listened to them talk about horse racing in Torre’s office before a game at Yankee Stadium.
Zimmer was an avid horse race guy who introduced other teammates to the thrills and chills of betting on the bangtails. (I love the word, “bangtails”). On this day he told about going out with Johnny Podres, then a Brooklyn Dodgers teammate, to the harness races at Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island. They carried with them some $600 they had been given earlier on payday.
“On the way out,” Zimmer said, “we had to pass this 10-cent toll on the parkway. At the track we spent our time betting and watching the races at a bar. You know how it is when you are at a bar; when you get change for a drink, you throw the change back to the bartender as a tip. Well, there wasn’t a winner between the two of us. We blew it all.
“Now we drive back on the parkway. When we get to the toll booth, Johnny says to me, ‘You got a dime?’ I don’t have a cent. I tell him, ‘I only have a $20 bill. You pay him.’ Johnny says to me, ‘I don’t even have a dime.’ I admit I don’t have a dime-or a $20 bill either.
“So Johnny tells the toll collector, ‘Look, I’m Johnny Podres and he’s Don Zimmer of the Brooklyn Dodgers and we blew it all at the racetrack and we don’t even have a dime.’ The toll guy looks at us, shakes his head with disgust, and throws a dime in the basket for us. We go through the gate and Johnny says to me, ‘You know, I could cry. I tell him, ‘Why don’t you!
“He pulls over to the side, puts his head on the wheel and bawls.”
I think of it as the “Brother Can
You Spare a Dime” tale.
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Calvin Borel, the smashing daredevil of a rail rider at Churchill Downs, did it again with his third Derby winner in the past four years. I think the unique language of the race chart is eloquent tribute to Super Saver’s winning race under Borel.
The Derby chart reads:
“SUPER SAVER came in the initial furlong tightening up inner rivals, was reserved along the inside while within easy striking distance, moved up on his own after six furlongs, rallied between rivals near the quarter mile marker, moved back to the rail when straightened away for the drive, engaged Noble’s Promise, shook off that one to open a clear lead with a furlong to go, then steadily expanded that lead while under steady urging.”
Borel was as ingenuous as ever after the
race. He called NBC interviewer-on-a-horse Donna Brothers, “Ma’am”
and “Sweetie.” He threw his arms up as he jogged
the horse back to the winner’s circle. And, as he had done
with his previous winners, he predicted Super Saver would win
the triple crown. He is a sweetie.
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As Zimmer would tell you, picking winning horses is a tough game. The Daily Racing Form Derby edition included the 1-2-3 race predictions of 28 handicappers. Not one picked the 8-1 shot Super Saver to win. Two picked him second and five picked him third.
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One of the pre-race angles featured the three celebrated trainers who have won Derbies. Wayne Lukas has four, Bob Baffert three and Nick Zito two. Zito did best; his Ice Box (11 ½-1) finished second after a rough trip that probably cost him the race. Baffert’s Lookin for Lucky ( the 6-1 favorite) also had rough going and managed to finish sixth. Lukas’ Dublin (20-1) finished seventh.
For the hell of it, let it be noted that the 20th and last horse was the 23-1 shot, Backtalk.
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NBC made a big deal about a promotion which gave a man named Glenn Fullerton $100,000 to bet on a horse. He picked Super Saver, won $900,000, and exulted like crazy. Fine and dandy but I wish NBC had explained the rules that produced him as the lucky winner--so the rest of us might have a shot at it next year.
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In Haverford, PA, the 94-year-old Dr. Pete Hyman, a man who not long ago went to a racetrack for the first time, had his greatest thrill in racing. He was given Super Saver in the community Kentucky Derby pool, and followed the horse with the yellow saddle cloth all the way around the track to victory.
©2010 by Stan Isaacs. The Stan Isaacs caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. This column first posted May 3, 2010.
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