Pincay: If Borel had it to do over ...

Laffit Pincay Jr., the most remarkable jockey I've ever seen, believes Calvin Borel would change his ride aboard Mine That Bird in the Belmont Stakes if he could.

When I first watched the race last Saturday and heard critics were jumping on Borel for moving too quickly, I thought the criticism was a bunch of baloney, sour grapes or whatever. But after listening to Pincay talk about this year's Triple Crown races, maybe I was wrong:

"I think if Borel would have known the track really, really well, I think he would have rode a different race and I think he probably would have had a better chance," Pincay said on the telephone this week. "The horse ran his race, and I think if you ask Borel right now, he'd tell you he would ride a different race if he had to do it again."

I asked Pincay which of the three Triple Crown races he felt was the most difficult to win, and he didn't hesitate.

"I think probably the toughest one was the Derby," he said. "It's a crowded field, you're going with your horse to a different race track and you're hoping that your horse stays calm and the crowd doesn't affect him."

Laffit will be in the Bahamas in early September to compete in what is called the Legends Sports Challenge. He is going to play poker. I asked him if he is a good poker player.

"Not really, but I'm learning," he said. "My son and I are going to take some classes and try to be good. It's like riding horses ... you got to have some good cards, you gotta use your head and get lucky."

Laffit Pincay is one of the classiest guys you'll ever come across in all of sports.