Churchill Downs

Even after three Kentucky Derby victories in four years, one can still make the case that Calvin Borel isn't the best jockey in the country. But two things cannot be disputed about the 43-year-old Louisiana native, who will try to win his second consecutive Preakness Stakes this week at Pimlico Race Course: No one in his profession is more fearless, and no one is more polite. That might seem, at first, like an odd juxtaposition. But when you witness Borel on a day when he's at his best, as he clearly was May 1 when he rode Super Saver on a rail-hugging trip around Churchill Downs to victory in the 136th Run for the Roses, you see how perfectly the description fits.

Less sport and more style. That's the winning ticket at the racetrack these days, as the horse racing industry is trying to reinvent itself in an effort to attract new, younger and female fans. It's happening on TV screens with shows emphasizing the people as much as the horses, while the major races themselves are being recast as lifestyle events rather than just competitions. And it's happening on computer and mobile screens, with fans and riders connecting on Facebook and jockeys using Twitter.

With the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby behind us and the eyes of the horse racing industry now focused on the Preakness in less than two weeks, the most important questions that need to be answered have as much to do with the mud as they do with a horse. Is Super Saver a great 3-year-old capable of winning the Triple Crown? Or is he simply a great mudder who, thanks to jockey Calvin Borel, took advantage of the rain-soaked track at Churchill Downs? We likely won't know the answer until the Preakness on May 15. But Super Saver's trainer, Todd Pletcher, and his owners at WinStar Farm are confident the colt can hold up to scrutiny.

Todd Pletcher didn't want to watch the Kentucky Derby with friends. He didn't want to watch it with family. He didn't want to pick one of the four owners he was representing and sit with them. In fact, he didn't even want to watch it live from the stands. He wanted to watch it alone, on television, inside the Horseman's Lounge, halfway down the tunnel beneath the grandstands. "Obviously, I needed to change something," said Pletcher, who entered Saturday's 136th Run for the Roses 0-for-24, the most attempts without a victory in the history of the race.

— Calvin Borel has only a nodding acquaintance with the King's English. His dentist can get him in and out in 15 minutes. Don't ask him about Shakespeare, because he'll want to know which race he's in. But come the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, nobody speaks more clearly, looks better, or is smarter. Put him on your horse and raise the mint juleps in victory. Trainer Todd Pletcher did that in the 136th Kentucky Derby Saturday, and the same thing that's happened two of the last three years happened again.

Todd Pletcher didn't want to watch the Kentucky Derby with friends. He didn't want to watch it with family. He didn't want to pick one of the four owners he was representing and sit with them. In fact, he didn't even want to watch it live from the stands. He wanted to watch it alone, on television, inside the Horseman's Lounge, halfway down the tunnel beneath the grandstands. "Obviously, I needed to change something," said Pletcher, who entered Saturday's 136th Run for the Roses 0-for-24, the most attempts without a victory in the history of the race.

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra could be heading back to work. Owner Jess Jackson is considering running the 4-year-old filly in the $400,000 La Troienne Stakes on Friday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Rachel Alexandra, who won last year's Preakness, hasn't run since finishing second to Zardana in the New Orleans Ladies on March 13, a performance that ended plans for her to meet unbeaten mare Zenyatta at the Apple Blossom....

HORSE RACING Tiz Chrome euthanized after collapsing at Churchill Downs Tiz Chrome, a 3-year-old horse training for a final Kentucky Derby prep race, was euthanized after collapsing during a workout at Churchill Downs. Trainer Bob Baffert said the colt had a fatal fracture of the left front sesamoid during a workout Sunday morning. Tiz Chrome was scheduled to run in the Derby Trial on Saturday. Baffert said the colt was working with another horse and the two were heading into the far turn on the one-mile track when the injury occurred and Tiz Chrome fell, sending exercise rider Dana Barnes tumbling to the track.

Here's a basic truth that most people in horse racing can agree on: The best horse in the field doesn't always win the Kentucky Derby. That doesn't mean Eskendereya, who will head to Churchill Downs as the biggest favorite in years, has any built-in excuses if he gets beat in the first leg of the 2010 Triple Crown. Right now, the Todd Pletcher-trained chestnut colt looks so talented, he should be able to overcome some of pitfalls that tend to take down Derby favorites. He should go off as the shortest priced Derby favorite since Point Given was 9-to-5 in 2001.

T he most successful reality TV shows are those that connect to larger societal trends. As more and more Americans started to focus on healthy eating, along came NBC's "The Biggest Loser." As the concept of globalization took hold of American thinking, " The Amazing Race," with its international treks and challenges, took off on CBS. But of all the many reality series that have come and gone since the debut of "Survivor" on CBS in 2000, I cannot remember one that did a more efficient job of trying to plug itself into the culture than "Undercover Boss," the new CBS show that premieres tonight after the Super Bowl to what will surely be an audience of tens of millions of viewers.