Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. Makes History Riding Mystik Dan to Kentucky Derby Win

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. has joined special company.

The 38-year-old Hispanic American Eclipse Award-winning jockey has become the eighth jockey in history, and the first since Calvin Borel in 2009, to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same year after Mystik Dan (18-1) won the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday in a photo finish.

It was the first time in 28 years the Kentucky Derby was won by a nose and just the 10th time ever.

Track Phantom (41-1) and Just Steel (21-1) led up until the 3/4-mile mark, with Fierceness, the 3-1 favorite, in third. Mystik Dan, though, held the inside right behind them.

Ridden by Hernandez, Mystik Dan busted through the pack after the final turn. After the turn, Fierceness fell way behind.

Mystik Dan led by several lengths in the final stretch, but Sierra Leone (9-2), the second-highest favorite, crept up from the outside, pushing Japanese horse Forever Young toward the railing.

Those three horses were within noses of each other, but it was Mystik Dan’s that crossed the line first.

Hernandez said he was “smiling the whole time,” even when a late surge from Sierra Leone had him questioning whether he had ended his Run for the Roses drought.

“We might have taken out a little bit of the inside fence, but that’s OK,” he joked.

Sierra Leone finished second and Forever Young finished third, while Fierceness finished 15th, 24½ lengths behind.

This year’s race came with much less controversy than last year’s. A dozen horses died at Churchill Downs in the days, and even hours, leading up to last year’s race.

Notably absent from this year’s race was Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who’s two-year ban was extended through 2024, making this the third straight Kentucky Derby a Baffert-trained horse did not compete.

A six-time winner at the Derby, Baffert was banned after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was stripped of the title due to a failed post-race drug test. The horse died of a heart attack that December.

Mystik Dan will now begin the quest for a Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course on May 18.

Hernandez began riding professionally in 2003 and got his first win on November 29, 2003, at Louisiana’s Delta Downs. As of May 2024, he has over 2,500 victories.

Junior Alvarado Rides Cody’s Wish to Dirt Mile Win at Breeders’ Cup Classic

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Junior Alvarado’s Wish has come true…

The 37-year-old Venezuelan jockey helped rally Cody’s Wish from last and survived a stewards’ inquiry to defend his horse’s title in the $1 million Dirt Mile at the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Ridden by Alvarado, Cody’s Wish ran the distance in 1:35.97. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, the 5-year-old horse paid $3.60 to win.

Cody’s Wish dueled leader National Treasure down the stretch. Cody’s Wish twice bumped National Treasure and jockey Flavien Prat before the Preakness winner made contact with Cody’s Wish, triggering the inquiry.

“Right when I got next to National Treasure, I know he kind of came out and tried to meet with my horse,” Alvarado said. “I just think at that point where he’s brushing my horse, I had the bigger horse and the mean horse, probably. I think my horse was feeling a little bit of a fight, and he tried to go right after the other horse.”

While fans chanted “Cody! Cody!,” the stewards studied video replays for seven minutes while the two horses were walked in circles on the track, waiting to see which one would get his picture taken in the winner’s circle.

It was Cody’s Wish by a nose.

“I knew it was nothing really to change the outcome,” Alvarado said. “My horse was already in front; he was never going to let that other horse go by again.”

Bob Baffert, who trains National Treasure, nodded his head at the finish, seemingly knowing that he had lost by the slimmest margin in horse racing.

The victory ensured a storybook ending for Cody’s Wish in his final race before retirement. He won 11 of 16 career starts, including eight in stakes races, and over $3.1 million in earnings.

Waiting in the winner’s circle during the inquiry was Cody Dorman, a teenager who has a rare genetic disorder and uses a wheelchair. He and the horse first met during a Make-A-Wish visit to a Kentucky farm when Cody’s Wish was a foal in 2018. Cody’s Wish walked over to Dorman’s wheelchair and put his head in the boy’s lap, creating a touching bond.

“That horse probably saved Cody’s life in a lot of ways,” said Kelly Dorman, the boy’s father. “I know him and the horse have made a lot of lives better.”

The Dorman family was on hand last year when Cody’s Wish won the Dirt Mile by a head at Keeneland, and they joined Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in celebrating again.

“It’s probably one of the most memorable rides that we’ve all been on,” Mott said. “Sometimes it’s a small group that gets to enjoy the win. But I think this one’s been for a lot of people.”

Mott and Alvarado teamed to win their second Cup race of the weekend. They took the $2 million Juvenile Fillies with Just F Y I on Friday.

John R. Velazquez Rides Medina Spirit to Kentucky Derby Win

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

John R. Velazquez has the winning spirit…

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican jockey rode Medina Spirit at Saturday’s 147th Kentucky Derby, which saw fans return to Churchill Downs, after a year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-year-old race horse, trained by two-time Triple Crown winner Bob Baffert, was ridden to victory by Velazquez, besting two-year-old Essential Quality, who was the favorite to win.

Medina Spirit’s odds of winning coming into the race were 12-1.

Mandaloun—ridden by jockey Florent Geroux—came in second place. And third place went to Hot Rod Charlie, the dark bay colt ridden by Flavien Prat.

Medina Spirit’s triumph brought Baffert into the lead, in terms of Derby wins by a trainer, with seven.

Velazquez was coming off another major win on Friday at the Kentucky Oaks competition, atop undefeated American Thoroughbred, Malathaat.

While the Kentucky Derby typically attracts a crowd of more than 150,000 people, today’s event was held at limited capacity, with just 51,838 spectators present. At the sporting events, socially-distanced spectators were required to wear masks when they weren’t eating or drinking, though some of those in attendance reportedly refused to comply.

After a year that saw the Derby held in the absence of fans, it returned to its regular spot on the calendar this year, along with the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the two other races one needs to win, in order to claim the coveted Triple Crown.

Preakness Stakes is set for May 15, with Belmont Stakes following on June 5.

Velasquez was inducted into the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Abel Cedillo Rides Thousand Words to Upset Victory at the Shared Belief Stakes

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Abel Cedillo has pulled off a major upset…

The Guatemalan horse rider, last year’s TVG Breakthrough Jockey of the Year, rode Thousand Words to an upset win over favorite Honor A. P. (1-5) by three-quarters of a length in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar over the weekend, giving trainer Bob Baffert another candidate for next month’s Kentucky Derby.

Thousand Words ran 1 1/16 miles in 1 minute, 43.85 seconds and paid $20.40 and $3.40 at 9-1 odds.

The colt earned 50 qualifying points for the Derby, which was postponed until Labor Day weekend because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Baffert said Thousand Words has perked up since coming from Los Angeles to the seaside track north of San Diego.

“The real Thousand Words showed up today,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “His whole mind changed. His color has changed. He had soured out on me, but we got him going the right way. He earned his way to the Derby.”

Thousand Words has four wins in seven career starts.

Cedillo has 1,284 career wins in 8,435 starts with earning of $27,898,415.

Espinoza Leads American Pharoah to Victory in First Post-Triple Crown Race

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Victor Espinoza continues his winning ways…

The 43-year-old Mexican jockey, who was named Best Jockey at this year’s ESPY Awards, gave American Pharoah a slight nudge to take control and lead the majestic colt to victory at the Haskell Invitational, delivering an encore performance in his first race since winning the Triple Crown.

“This horse, he just keeps bringing it,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He’s just a great horse.”

With a record crowd of 60,983 cheering him on Sunday at Monmouth Park, American Pharoah came out of the final turn with a clear lead and cruised to a 2¼-length victory while Espinoza barely moved a muscle.

“He ran like a champ,” Espinoza said.

After winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes to become the 12th Triple Crown winner and first in 37 years, American Pharoah’s return was greatly anticipated.

Fifty-seven days after the Belmont, the 3-year-old son of Pioneer of the Nile looked better than ever in his eighth consecutive victory.

“That was nerve-racking,” Baffert said after his eighth win in the Haskell, five more than any other trainer. “I was getting pretty nervous.”

“No clue,” owner Ahmed Zayat said when asked about his colt’s next race. “We’re going to enjoy this moment.”

If all goes according to plan, American Pharoah will run his final race in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 31. Then he’s headed down the road to the breeding shed at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud.

A few minutes after Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born to Run” blared over the speakers as the horses walked onto the track, American Pharoah broke well from post No. 4. But it was Competitive Edge who took the lead. Espinoza kept his horse in second until the far turn. And then, American Pharoah took off and was all alone in the stretch.

The final margin was deceptive because Espinoza never asked American Pharoah to run any harder than necessary.

“It was pretty easy,” said Espinoza, who is unbeaten in eight races as American Pharoah’s jockey. “For me the key was just coming out of there running. I knew that other horse would want to take the lead, so I sat back just a little bit. I never like to go head and head with another horse, so I sat back maybe half a length behind. He did everything by himself. It was pretty easy, pretty impressive.”

American Pharoah followed many of his Triple Crown colleagues by winning his first start after three grueling races in five weeks. Of the 11 others, seven won in their return and one, Count Fleet, was retired after the 1943 Belmont with an injury.

American Pharoah opened his career with a loss before reeling off eight in a row — seven of them Grade 1 races. With the $1.1 million payday in the Haskell, his career earnings soared to $5.6 million.

Espinoza Rides American Pharoah to Triple Crown Greatness

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Victor Espinoza has jockeyed his way into the history books…

American Pharoah, with the 43-year-old Mexican jockey at the reins, won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.

Affirmed had been the last horse to win the Triple Crown, taking the most coveted prize in horse racing in 1978.

American Pharoah lived up to expectations on Saturday, pulling away from its challengers in the last stretch of the 147th Belmont Stakes and becoming just the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown.

“It’s very emotional,” American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert, said. “What a feeling. It’s probably going to take a few days to sink in.”

The horse, which is owned by Zayat Stables, won the Kentucky Derby on May 2 and the Preakness Stakes two weeks later, taking the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Baffert and Espinoza had come up short in five previous bids between them to win the Triple Crown.

“He walked into the gate amazing,” Espinoza said. “He was ready today. As soon as I sat in the saddle, there was so much power and so much energy this horse had. He trained perfect, just unbelievable coming into the race.”

American Pharoah ended the longest streak without a Triple Crown winner in the history of American horse racing, with 13 horses losing in the Belmont Stakes after winning the first two races in the series.

The previous longest stretch without a Triple Crown winner was 25 years, spanning the time from Citation’s victory in 1948 to Secretariat’s win in 1973.

“It’s just an amazing thing. It’s just unbelievable how things work out. It’s just an amazing horse like American Pharoah. I was coming to this race with so much confidence the last two times. It’s just unbelievable,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza won the first two legs of the Triple Crown with War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome last year, but he came up short each time at Belmont.

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