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When Mine That Bird won the 2009 Kentucky Derby, he blazed a path so profoundly unexpected that to this day expert handicappers wince at his name. Going into the race, nothing was expected of this 50-to-1 nobody from nowhere. And for most of the race, he was dead last—until jockey Calvin Borel made his move from behind the pack, sneaking up tight against the rail and flying past them all. For filmmaker Jim Wilson, the enduring wow factor of the narrative cried out for the big screen. The major studios didn't agree. "Hollywood wanted nothing to do with it," he...

Mine That Bird beat the odds 50 to 1 when the gelding came from behind to win the Kentucky Derby in 2009. The win thrust the horse into the national spotlight, along with his New Mexico-based owners and trainer. Five years later, there is more spotlight on the way as Oscar-winner Jim Wilson and Faith Conroy are bringing the story to the big screen with the film “50 to 1.” “50 to 1″ is the story of Mark Allen, from Double Eagle Ranch in Roswell, who bought the Canadian gelding in late 2008 with his business partner Dr. Leonard Blach....

race coverage begins at 3:00 central, Preakness winner Rachel Alexanda will not run at least until the Breeders Cup

An exuberant Calvin Borel expressed confidence that Mine That Bird will win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) after working the diminutive gelding a half-mile in :50 on a warm, sunny June 1 morning at Churchill Downs. “Perfect,” said Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with the son of Birdstone trained by Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. for owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach. “He’s ready. We’re going to win. No questions asked.” The boast by the hard-working, likable Borel was similar to the one he made previous to winning the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr....

If it weren't for the plea deal that his dad, former Veco chief executive Bill Allen, made with federal prosecutors, Mark Allen might not have been in the winner's circle SNIPBill Allen, in pleading guilty in 2007 to three counts related to his central role in the Alaska public corruption scandal, won immunity from federal criminal charges for Mark Allen.

No .. I don't have one ...but ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Before he ever set hoof to racetrack, Canadian champion Mine That Bird was unfathomable furlongs from being a Kentucky Derby prospect. He stood a little crooked, was too frisky for his own good and was bought, more or less, to be a modestly profitable racehorse for a Woodbine trainer quite adept at that game. Yet there he was on a lazy afternoon yesterday outside his Churchill Downs barn, oblivious to the fuss building for tomorrow's opening jewel of the Triple Crown. Of more pressing concern, really, was the whereabouts of his latest trainer, Bennie (Chip) Woolley, as...