Owner of World Speaks; Filly Rests

Sometimes it's tough to understand everything Mark Allen says. Why listen to him, anyway, you say? He's a cowboy from New Mexico and if it wasn't for a plea deal his father, former Veco CEO Bill Allen, made with the feds, he may not have been a co-owner of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. However, Mark Allen is the co-owner of the Derby winner and Preakness runner-up. Earlier this week, he and the rest of the Bird connections were waiting for Jess Jackson, the owner of Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra, to make up his mind whether or not to run his new found filly in the Belmont Stakes. Allen and Co. needed to know because if she did run, it would mean the Bird people would lose Calvin Borel as their rider. Borel was Rachel's regular rider and the two have won six races in a row. As each day passed, the wait was getting to Allen. Here's what he told me a few days ago: ``We want Calvin, but Mr. Jackson owns the world. We just live in it.''


Today, a week before the Belmont and two weeks after the Preakness, Jackson spoke: ``After careful consideration, we have decided not to run Rachel Alexandra in the Belmont Stakes next weekend.'' Jackson also said his goal when he bought the filly for scads of millions was to restore the sports vitality and grow its fan base by extending the racing careers of it stars. Thanks Jess. You have done your filly, Calvin Borel, and the rest of the racing world a solid. You rock. However, what happens if Mine That Bird wins the Belmont? Can we call Jess Jackson the Triple Crown spoiler? That's good for racing?