Calvin Borel prefers the ladies (can you blame him?)

While the hopes of seeing a Triple Crown winner were still flickering as Mine That Bird’s trainer Chip Woolley announced they would run in the Preakness, that flicker has been all but extinguished.

Calvin Borel, the jockey who guided Mine That Bird to the second biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history last week, has decided to become the first jockey ever to take off a Derby winner to ride a different horse in the Preakness.

Chip Woolley said shortly after the announcement came out that Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is “one of a few guys we’re taking a look at” to replace Borel for the 134th Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore.

A couple hurdles still remain, and it is possible Borel could end up back in the saddle for Mine That Bird. Rachel Alexandra was not nominated to the Triple Crown and therefore would have to be supplemented to the race for a $100,000 fee. If she does not make the field, which is limited to 14 starters, Woolley has said he would prefer to keep Borel on Mine That Bird if given that option.

Assuming she runs, Rachel Alexandra, a 20 1/4-length winner of the May 1 Kentucky Oaks, will attempt to become just the fifth filly to win the Preakness, and the first to run in the race in 10 years.

The reasons given by Stonestreet Stables owner Jess Jackson and Calvin Borel for the switch?

“It came down to the facts that he knows and loves this horse, that he knows how to get the most from her and he knows how to win,” Jackson said in a statement Friday. “They were an amazing team at the Kentucky Oaks — winning by over 20 lengths. We think this is a perfect match of rider and horse.”

“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” Borel said, “I had no choice. She’s something else.”