by Whitney Harrod

Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)- and BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1)-winning jockey Calvin Borel visited Old Friends Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, on Tuesday, spending time with fans and reuniting with a former mount, Mark of Success.

The evening celebration, dubbed Calvin Borel Day, was open to the public and drew more than 100 people. For a $20 donation, guests received catered food and the chance to mingle with the regular rider of Derby winner Mine That Bird and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.

Guests also received green Old Friends-inscribed bracelets and had the opportunity to purchase Old Friends T-shirts, caps, and photographs of Mine That Bird.

“A place like this makes horse racing good, and at least there’s a home for them like this [after racing],” Borel said. “I appreciate the people coming out, putting up with me.”

Since 2002, Old Friends has taken in 50 retired racehorses, many of them graded stakes winners. Mark of Success raced from 2005-’08, and Borel was aboard for three of the gelding’s 34 starts, including a 2005 victory in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming race at Louisiana Downs.

Borel most recently won the Mother Goose Stakes (G1) aboard Rachel Alexandra, setting a Belmont Park stakes record with a 19 ¼-length victory on Saturday.

Borel arrived at Old Friends with his fiancée, Lisa Funk, and agent Jerry Hissam. Borel, then, between interviews with local media and his visit with Mark of Success, toured the facility with founder Michael Blowen.

“The horses that come here still make money for us,” Blowen said. “They attract the visitors, and [ultimately] donations.”

Full of energy and a friendly smile, Borel and Funk relaxed at a table, posing for photographs and signing autographs for fans both young and old.

Borel, who endorses the Kentucky Equine Education Project’s plan for expanded gambling, said Kentucky’s horse industry should continue to fight for the addition of racinos at racetracks.

A bill to add video lottery terminals at Kentucky tracks that would have provided revenue for purses and breeders’ funds passed the Kentucky House of Representatives during a special legislative session but failed to reach the Senate floor when a committee killed it with a 10-5 vote.

“We definitely need it,” he said. “We could get something out of it, especially for the jockey’s disabled fund. I think it would be wonderful.” 

Whitney Harrod is a Thoroughbred Times editorial intern