Riding the Rail

So how important is riding the rail? If you ask Calvin Borel, it makes all the difference, but a lot depends on the horse you are riding. True, it is the shortest distance around the oval, but not every horse will feel comfortable running along the edges, so to speak. And it is only natural when a horse tires, especially at the top of the stretch, that their inclination is to drift out, away from the middle of the track.

So how does Borel do it? According to Bloodhorse.com, it is a combination of experience and what Bob Baffert refers to as "great hands. "He know if he gets on top of the rail, it's a big advantage," continues Baffert. "Lots of guys try it, but they can't do it. He's got it mastered. He can get a horse to relax. He's got really great hands."

Of course, it helps to have a fairly low post position, but if you watch replays of most of Borel's big races, he steers his mount toward the inside, pretty much as soon as they break out of the gate, and then just lets the openings manifest themselves.

It has backfired. There are lots of times when he gets shut out and lots of times, when he finishes on the rail but nowhere in the money. But when it works, it is as if the seas part for him when all he does is wait for the hole to open up. When it does, he has to have enough horse underneath him to accelerate quickly to take advantage of a fleeting opportunity.

Is Super Saver that horse? Borel seems to think so. I'm not sure. I'd like to see the Preakness run on a dry track so we can throw out the conditions as a deal maker, and I'd also like to see Super Saver get an outside post so he can truly prove himself.

It's not like Borel makes a secret of his strategy. "We all know what he is going to do," said Robby Albarado, whose mount was 14th in the Derby. "He just does it anyway." How could they stop him? By not letting him through or making him lay too far back to be able to catch the leader.

Certainly Borel had the fire power he needed to win the Preakness last year on Rachel Alexandra. Can he do it again?

We'll know in less than a week.