Tim Sullivan | Calvin Borel's victory livens big screen

Calvin Borel had watched the race astride the winner. He had viewed the video, by his own estimate, "a million times." He had lived and breathed and dared and delivered Mine That Bird's magical run in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, but he had never seen it on the big screen until the improbable tale was retold in a feature film.

During the March 19 premier of "50 To 1," at Albuquerque's KiMo Theatre, Borel was watching his rail-skimming ride replayed on a 35-foot screen when he sensed his wife, Lisa, was looking at him.

"The first time we watched the movie, she said, 'Are you crazy?' "

Borel said Tuesday morning, his voice rising in a simulated shriek. "On the big screen, it is crazy what it looked like. How did that horse pass through there? Even the actors said, 'Damn, we do some crazy stuff. But going 40 miles an hour doing what you did, Lord, that's incredible.' "

From the passenger side of a parked golf cart at Churchill Downs, the Hall of Fame jockey cackled at his renowned tolerance for racing risk and, a little later, at Hollywood's depiction of his chronic clumsiness around machinery. Borel played himself in the movie, inhabiting the role with the humanity, humor and vulnerability that have characterized his career.

The film takes a few liberties with the facts, paints an unflattering portrait of racing snobbery in general and trainer Bob Baffert in particular, but Calvin Borel as Calvin Borel is pretty close to pitch-perfect. The three-time Derby winner gives "50 To One" an authenticity and a soul a more accomplished actor would have been hard-pressed to provide.

"Without Calvin," director Jim Wilson said, "I really would have been in trouble."

Wilson's film focuses primarily on the tribulations of trainer Chip Woolley (played by Skeet Ulrich) and the boisterous band of New Mexicans who accompanied Mine That Bird to Louisville for the 135th Derby.

Actor William Devane, who plays one of the gelding's owners, has described the film as a "quintessential" American story, likening it to the Howard Hawks' westerns starring John Wayne, and that might be a bit overstated. But because "50 To One" begins with a bar fight, proceeds as a cross-country lark, and ends in improbable triumph, its narrative arc feels both familiar and fun.

The true story is so strong that it didn't need much embellishment.

Even now, nearly five years after the fact, footage of Mine That Bird's Derby run from a distant last to a six-length victory is still jaw-slackening stuff. Wilson, who produced the Oscar-winning "Dances With Wolves," was initially drawn to the longshot angle, then found the characters equally compelling.

Early versions of the script struck Borel as "fakey,' and he was reluctant to forsake multiple days of riding to film the scenes set at Churchill Downs. But Wilson was persistent, both with his revisions and his personal appeals.

"He thought maybe this wouldn't be a great idea," Wilson said, describing Borel's reservations. "I said, 'Maybe I ought to fly out and meet you.' I spent a good two hours (explaining) why I really needed Calvin. But even then, he wasn't hooked."

Wilson considered casting former jockey Kenny Black as Borel — Black would ultimately play a smaller part — but eventually landed his first choice. The Churchill Downs scenes were shot in October, 2012, in the middle of Keeneland's fall meet.

"Acting was kind of different because there's people watching you," Borel said. "I ride every day, I go out and talk, and you say what's on your mind. There, you have to say what they want you to, and believe me, it's hard."

Wilson sensed Borel's nerves as he struggled to memorize lines on his first day before the cameras. But by Day 2, back in his element at the track, Borel told the director, "You're in my house, now."

Though he is clearly most comfortable in the saddle, Borel's sincerity is apparent throughout. He also shows a flair for slapstick in stepping on a rake and causing an explosion in a microwave oven.

"That's me," Borel confessed Tuesday morning. "Don't give me a hammer and nail because I'll smash something. I can ride a horse 40 miles an hour, but I can't cut grass because I'll cut myself."

Hiring Calvin Borel to cut grass would be crazy. He seems to have a knack, however, for roses.

Contact Tim Sullivan at tsullivan@courier-journal.com or (502) 582-4650. Follow @timsullivan714 on Twitter and keep up with discussions using #cjsullivan.