Brian Hernandez Jr.

'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (f, 3, Fast Anna--Sataves, by Uncle Mo), off since a second Nov. 25 in the GII Golden Rod S., shook off any cobwebs with aplomb to notch a four-length score in the GII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn under a hand ride Saturday. West Omaha (West Coast) and Tapit Jenallie (Tapit), who filled out the trifecta in the reverse order behind Lemon Muffin (Collected)--seventh here--in the Feb. 24 GIII Honeybee S., finished second and third, respectively. The Fantasy is a Kentucky Oaks points race on a...

One of four Kentucky Derby preps run Saturday, the $800,000 GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park was the richest. It also promised to be the most wide-open betting contest and it didn't disappoint as a mud-splattered 11-1 MYSTIK DAN (c, 3, Goldencents--Ma'am, by Colonel John) pulled the upset for trainer Kenny McPeek. Last fall's Ed Brown S. winner Just Steel (Justify) got up for second while GIII Street Sense S. winner Liberal Arts (Arrogate) secured third. The Southwest offers points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale for the Road to the Kentucky...

Taking home his first black-type win this Saturday at Fair Grounds, Legalize (Constitution) broke his maiden at second asking in gate-to-wire fashion by 1 1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs Nov. 25. Sent on his way as the 8-5 second choice here, the chestnut raced to the outside of two others up the backstretch and clung to that spot around the far turn. At the top of the lane, the 2-year-old colt geared up, grabbed the lead at the eighth pole and never looked back to win by 2 3/4 lengths...

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will host a charity golf event at the Nevel Meade Golf Course in Prospect, KY, on Apr. 18 in celebration the organization's 40th anniversary. The event will begin with 12:30 p.m. registration and lunch, followed by a shotgun start at 2:00 p.m. Included in the registration fee are greens fees, cart, lunch, range balls, a sleeve of TRF logo golf balls, an embroidered green golf shirt with TRF logo, a TRF baseball hat and more. Prizes will be given for the 1st-, 2nd- and last-place...

2nd-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:05 p.m. At the end of last year, it was Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) that reigned supreme over Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy) in the first-crop sire race when Spendthrift's own sewed up the title by more than $275,000 in world-wide earnings. Now second-croppers, they come together in Race 2 at Keeneland for another battle on Saturday. Bred by WinStar Farm and trained by Todd Pletcher, LE BAR (Bolt d'Oro) carries the flag for the 2022 first-crop leader and is part of a...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 04/20/2022 Licensee: Ed Moger, trainer Penalty: $500 fine Violation: Out of competition medication violation Explainer: Trainer Ed Moger, who worked the horse Squalotoro for removal from the Veterinarian's List on March 10, 2022, at Santa Anita Park,...

Fern Circle Stable & Three Chimneys Farm's King Fury (Curlin) took advantage of a fast early pace in Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. over a sloppy Keeneland main track and closed off fastest of all to cause an 18-1 upset, earning 20 points towards a potential appearance in the GI Kentucky Derby in three weeks' time. A maiden winner at first asking over a distance of ground at Churchill Sept. 3, King Fury could not overcome a wide trip when eighth of nine behind Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI...

Blue-blooded King Fury bounced back from an uninspiringly flat performance in the GI Breeders Futurity at Keeneland earlier this month to win Sunday's Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs. Favored at 4-5 to make amends, the chestnut was a two-wide fourth going into  the first turn and remained comfortably off the rail heading into the far turn. Starting to make up ground approaching the quarter pole, the $950,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase wrested the lead from GISP Super Stock in the stretch and drew clear late to score by a half...

There was no easy ride for heavily-favored ART COLLECTOR (c, 3, Bernardini--Distorted Legacy, by Distorted Humor) in Sunday's Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, as he was pressured hard on the front end throughout, but in the end it made little difference, as the streaking bay turned away all challengers to cement himself as one of the favorites for the GI Kentucky Derby. Breaking sharply at 2-5, Art Collector made the lead on his own power under Brian Hernandez, Jr. while being kept a bit off the rail heading into the clubhouse...

Bruce Lundsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), winner of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his latest start, worked over a muddy Churchill Downs track Saturday morning. Trained by Tom Drury, the colt carved out fractions of :12.80 and :24.60 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six panels in 1:14.80. "It's so nice to have a horse who is versatile and can really run over any surface," said Drury. "He did everything very easily this morning and it was really just a perfect work. We are still taking things...

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), who entered the GI Kentucky Derby discussion with a solid victory in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland July 11, went an easy four furlongs in :49 flat Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. The homebred colt is slated for a final prep in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9. Brian Hernandez, Jr. was in the irons. "He's fit; we weren't looking for much today," trainer Tom Drury, Jr., said. "Just a little maintenance half-mile, let him stretch his legs a little....

Throughout the sport, the coronavirus has meant adjustments, For most jockeys, that includes no longer being able to use the "hot box" to take off weight. For several racetracks and racing departments, that has meant a concession to the jockeys in the form of raising the scale of weights. But will these temporary solutions become permanent when life returns to normal and might eliminating the saunas in jockeys' quarters ultimately prove to be a solution that helps riders stay healthy? These are questions already being discussed. The saunas, which many...