Borel Targets Oaklawn Park Return

Jockey Calvin Borel, a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) and a 2013 inductee into the Thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame, will take the rest of the year off as he continues his recovery from injuries suffered in an October riding mishap at Keeneland Race Course.

Both Borel and agent Jerry Hissam have confirmed that he would remain out of the saddle through the end of the year and plans to return to competition in the 2014 meet at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., which will open Jan. 10.

The 47-yearold Louisiana native suffered a fractured fibula in a spill at the Lexington track on Oct. 24. He had originally planned to be out of action for “three or four weeks,” but has now decided that he will work toward a return to competition after the first of the year.

Borel confirmed his plans Tuesday during an appearance at the “Race for Success,” an annual fundraiser for Neighborhood House in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood. He was a featured guest at the annual event along with his wife, Lisa, and retired Hall of Fame rider Pat Day.

Lisa Borel said that her husband was doing well in his recovery from the leg injury, but also suffered “some soft tissue damage” in his right shoulder during that spill that requires added time to heal on its own.

Borel won the Kentucky Derby in 2007 (Street Sense), Mine That Bird (2009) and Super Saver (2010). He is the only jockey in 139 years of Kentucky Derby history to win the race three times in four years.