Opening day report

Jockey Calvin Borel (left) and agent Jerry Hissam are in a holding pattern heading into today’s opener. Borel, one victory away from 5,000, has a broken wrist and will miss the first few weeks of the season. Hissam is recuperating from heart and gall bladder surgery.
Jockey Calvin Borel (left) and agent Jerry Hissam are in a holding pattern heading into today’s opener. Borel, one victory away from 5,000, has a broken wrist and will miss the first few weeks of the season. Hissam is recuperating from heart and gall bladder surgery.

— Borel, agent mending

=The jockey isn’t the only one ailing in Team Borel.

Jerry Hissam of Hot Springs, the longtime agent for jockey Calvin Borel, continues to recover from multiple surgeries last month.

Hissam, 68, underwent triple bypass heart surgery Dec. 7 and had gall bladder surgery Dec. 27.

“Still a little bit on the weak side, the tired side,” Hissam said Tuesday morning. “But every day, I get stronger.”

Hissam said he first believed he might have to have a stent or balloon procedure, but doctors found four major blocked arteries (“80-90 percent,” he said).

Hissam said he was released Dec. 12 from St.

Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs, but was hospitalized again Christmas Eve with pain in his back and stomach.

Hissam said his gall bladder was removed three days later.

Borel, Oaklawn’s leading rider in 1995 and 2001, is expected to miss the next three weeks because of a broken wrist, interrupting his quest to become the 26th jockey in North American history with 5,000 career victories.

Borel has 4,999 victories.

Hissam said he has no plans to retire despite the health scare.

“When he decides to quit, that’s when I’ll quit,” Hissam said, referring to Borel.

Hissam has represented Borel for more than 20 years.

“I don’t think he’s looking to retire,” Hissam said. “And if he ain’t, I’m sure not.” V is for Vance

Trainer David Vance has returned to Hot Springs with a nine-horse string after a two-year absence.

Vance wintered the past two years in Florida - Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park - but said he didn’t make any money and couldn’t get anybody to claim any horses.

“The purses are better here,” said Vance, 72, a four-time leading trainer at Oaklawn. “I’ve got a couple of people here who will take a horse or two. We’re a little down on horses and there’s no sense of going to Miami unless you’ve got good horses. And the other place, if you don’t have a Florida bred, you can’t make any money. We loved Tampa.”

Vance said he’s got a couple of promising fillies, and he really likes Royal Dehere, a 3-year-old Dehere gelding who is scheduled to make his 2013 debut in today’s seventh race.

Owned by TBS Farms LLC (Tom Schueck of Little Rock), Royal Dehere hasn’t started since finishing second in a swift Aug.

12 sprint at Ellis Park in Kentucky.

Royal Dehere recorded a half-mile bullet from the gate (:48.20) on Sunday.

“They’re going to have to run to beat him,” Vance said.

“He’s a nice little horse.”

Vance said he’s also deposited “a couple of dollars” to claim horses.

“I can claim a couple and scare somebody a little bit,” Vance said.

Vance said he continues to use a wheelchair to train his horses after a December 2007 automobile accident.

Vance said he can walk using a walker, but prefers the wheelchair because of a painful right ankle.

“I just wasn’t comfortable setting it down,” Vance said.

“The effort I was putting in, I felt like with my body that I wasn’t getting anything out of it.”

Vance was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1976. He set Oaklawn single-season record for victories in 1973 (46) and 1974 (50).

He won his 3,000th career race in 2008.

Vance said he has no thoughts of retirement.

“I’m too mean to retire,” he said.

Starting over

Agent Jay Fedor said last fall there was a “strong possibility” that Robby Albarado would ride at the 2013 Oaklawn meeting.

It didn’t look that way in early December when Albarado started riding at Gulfstream Park near Miami, but after a horrendous start (he was 1 for 49), Albarado shifted gears and arrived earlier this week in Hot Springs in an attempt to resurrect his career.

Albarado, 39, was Oaklawn’s leading rider in 1996 and 1997 and rose to national prominence as the regular rider of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft and Curlin, Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

But his career has stalled the last two years because of incidents involving domestic violence.

“He’s trying to get everything jump-started again,” Fedor said. “Things weren’t going as good as he would have liked at Gulfstream, I imagine. I had him all summer at Arlington and we worked well together. Thought it was a great time for him to come back here and give it another shot.”

Albarado is named on seven horses today, including Endorsement in the $75,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses.

Fedor also represents Rosemary Homeister Jr. at Oaklawn.

It’s time

Trainer Steve Hobby of Hot Springs is wasting no time unleashing his group of promising maidens.

Marshall Raylan, a 3-yearold Dixie Union colt owned by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, is scheduled to make his highly anticipated career debut in today’s seventh race.

A $650,000 Ocala Breeders’ Sale’s Co’s March 2-year-old buy back, Marshall Raylan has had more than 20 workouts leading up to his career debut, Hobby said.

Mr Blackthorn, a 3-yearold Majestic Warrior colt also owned by the Lieblongs, is scheduled to make his 2013 debut Saturday.

Mr Blackthorn finished fourth in his only career start and is highly thought of by jockey Terry Thompson, Alex Lieblong said.

“Terry thinks this is his Arkansas Derby horse,” Lieblong said.

I’mclassyandsassy, a 3-year-old Master Command filly owned by the Lieblongs, is up to half-mile workouts after undergoing surgery to remove a tiny bone chip from a knee following her runner-up finish in the $100,000 Sorority Stakes on Sept. 2 at Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

Hobby said he has no immediate plans for I’mclassyandsassy, a full sister to stakes-placed Launch Commander.

“I’ll let her tell me,” Hobby said.

Hobby also has Top Priority, a 3-year-old maiden who is a full brother to multiple stakes winner Tiz Miz Sue.

“I really like my young horses,” Hobby said.

Sports, Pages 21 on 01/11/2013

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