SpectraVET Classic Performance: Mine That Bird

Rewind to 2009 to one of the biggest upsets in Kentucky Derby history.

Keep your Derby weekend high going strong by reliving the phenomenal dead-last-to-runaway-winner 2009 Kentucky Derby trip of long shot Mine That Bird, jockeyed by Calvin Borel. At 50-1, Mine That Bird had the third-longest odds going into the gate, and was promptly squeezed to the back at the start anyway, dropping further and further behind until he was essentially off the screen for the first minute of the race. Mine That Bird was quickly on his way to anonymity as an “also ran” (indeed, he was so far back that caller Tom Durkin almost forgot to mention him.)

And then around the turn for home, something amazing happened:

The overhead view of the race is amazing to watch as Calvin “Bo-Rail” as he was known at the time finds the room and the acceleration he needs to dart through gaps find his way to the front of the pack. And suddenly, there he is, out in front, the rest in his muddy wake. (Fast-forward to 7:30 to see the overhead view, and look for that fast-moving object rapidly rocketing to the front.) The race has been hailed as one of the greatest rides in a Kentucky Derby to date, and one of sport’s biggest upsets.

Proving he wasn’t exactly just a flash in the pan, Mine That Bird went on to be second in the Preakness to Rachel Alexandra, and third in the Belmont. A gelding, he was then retired to the New Mexico ranch where he was trained. He did a little traveling to help promote the feature film about the 2009 Derby, 50 to 1 (Amanda Ronan reviewed the film here.)

Go riding!

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