By The Numbers

It was a sad Tuesday in the world of Thoroughbred Racing as super filly Rachel Alexandra retired and 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Real Quiet passed away.

Both horses brought racing fans great memories during their racing career including record setting victories and memorable defeats.



I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the well known and not-so-obvoius statistical superlatives each horse achieved. And, the ironic part is that some of their stats are similar.



Rachel Alexandra's record win in the Kentucky Oaks



Rachel Alexandra

Career Record          
19 Starts - 13-5-0

Career Earnings         

$3,506,730

Number of Years Raced
3

Grade 1 Victories      
5 (Kentucky Oaks, Preakness, Mother Goose, Haskell and Woodward)

Number of Graded Stakes Victories
9

Number of Jockeys Used 
2 (Brian Hernandez, Jr. and Calvin Borel)

Number of Times Made Betting Favorite
15 (79% of career starts)

Longest Winning Streak
9 (Golden Rod - Nov. 2008 - Woodward - Sept. 2009)

Longest Losing Streak
2 (New Orleans Ladies - La Troienne - 2010)

Best Beyer Speed Figure
116 - 2009 Haskell Invitational

Number of Races Over 100 Beyer Speed Figure
12

Largest Margin of Victory
20 1/4 lengths - 2009 Kentucky Oaks

Career Debut
May 22, 2008 - Churchill Downs, 9th Race

Number of Tracks Run
8 (Churchill. Keeneland, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn, Pimlico, Belmont, Monmouth and Saratoga)

Number of Trainers
2 (Hal Wiggins and Steve Amussen)

Average Margin of Victory
4.63 lengths

Average Odds
3.16-1
(Note: Her first two races, she was sent off at 26-1 and 12-1)

Average Field Size
7.16

Real Quiet

Career Record

20 Starts - 6-5-6

Career Earnings
$3,271,802

Number of Years Raced
3

Grade 1 Victories
5 (Hollywood Futurity, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Pimlico Special and Hollywood Gold Cup)

Number of Graded Stakes Victories
5

Number of Jockeys Used
6 (Joe Steiner, David Flores, Scott Stevens, Kent Desormeaux, Gary Stevens and Jerry Bailey)

Number of Times Made Betting Favorite
7 (35% of career starts)

Longest Winning Streak
2 (Kentucky Derby-Preakness, 1998)

Longest Losing Streak
6 (June 15, 1997-Sept. 5, 1997)
Best Beyer Speed Figure
115 - 1999 Hollywood Gold Cup

Number of Races Over 100 Beyer Speed Figure
11

Largest Margin of Victory
3 - 1997 Maiden Special - Oct. 18, 1997

Career Debut
June 15, 1997 - Churchill Downs, 1st Race - Finished 7th

Number of Tracks Run
11 (Churchill. Hollywood, Santa Fe, Del Mar, Santa Anita, Golden Gate, Pimlico, Belmont, Fair Grounds, Lone Star and Suffolk)

Number of Trainers
1 (Bob Baffert)

Average Margin of Victory
1.25 lengths

Average Odds
3.35-1

Average Field Size
8.6

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.