Where's Calvin?

On big race days like the Belmont Stakes, the races leading up to the headliner are almost always great. And no great race card is complete without all-star jockeys. However, there is one big name virtually missing from the riding roster on Saturday.

Calvin Borel, looking for racing immortality on Saturday in his quest for a Triple Crown, elected to ride in just one race outside Mine That Bird in the Belmont, the fifth race on the card, a turf race.

It's a questionable call for Borel not to ride in any dirt races before the Belmont. Since 2000, he has only ridden in four races at Belmont so he certainly is not familiar with the track. It certainly wouldn't take Borel long to understand the nuances of "Big Sandy" but why sit out any dirt races on Belmont Day.

We all know that racing can come down to split second decisions and we've seen how crucial those choices are in the Belmont. The most recent example was in 1998 when jockey Kent Desormeaux jumped the gun early with Real Quiet, moved a little prematurely and lost the Triple Crown by a gut wrenching nose to Victory Gallop in 1998.

Borel has made some really good ones over the past few years but to sit on the sidelines could be a disservice to the fans, trainer Chip Woolley and himself.

It's not to say that Borel had an opportunity to ride in every race on Saturday. And only he and his agent would know how many mounts were offered to them.

But for Borel to ride more often on Belmont day would have given the fans more to root for and given the new ambassador of racing some much needed exposure in the biggest media market in the country.

To Borel's credit, he's frequently made himself available to the media and is slated to make two high profile appearances in the next couple of days: the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning and David Letterman on Friday night.

The bottom line is this - if Borel continues his hot and masterful riding as of late, none of it will matter. (He has won 30 percent of his races since May 11.) He will be in the winner's circle on Mine That Bird celebrating a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment.

Let's hope he stays white hot and won't pay the price for not getting familiar with a track that has turned so many Triple Crown dreams into nightmares.