Brian Hernandez

Six Speed (Not This Time), coming off a runner-up effort in the Mar. 28 G2 UAE Derby, tuned up for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby with a four-furlong drill in :48.80 (12/24) Monday at Churchill Downs. With exercise rider Declan Cannon in the irons, the colt covered his opening furlong in :13.20, reached the quarter-mile in :25 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:01.60. "We're not going to change too much in the Derby," trainer Bhupat Seemar said. "He's a horse that likes to be up there. If they go fast,...

There's never a good time for a spill, but the one Sunday at Churchill Downs that landed Brian Hernandez Jr. in the intensive care unit at the University of Louisville Hospital could not have come at a worse time. Hernandez sustained seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a liver laceration that was treated by a minor surgical procedure. The doctors have told Hernandez he should expect to be out six to eight weeks. That means he will not be able to ride Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in Saturday's GII Lukas...

Since his upset victory in the GI Kentucky Derby nearly 400 days ago, not a whole lot had gone right for Mystik Dan (Goldencents). Yes, he was a meritorious second to a loose-on-the-lead Seize the Grey (Arrogate) in the GI Preakness Stakes, but he subsequently failed to shine in the GI Belmont Stakes, the GI Malibu Stakes when racing first off a 6 1/2-month absence and the GI Pegasus World Cup, defeating a total of four horses. Trainer Ken McPeek has remained unflappable and unwavering in his belief that Mystik...

With a lot of the negative news we often confront in racing, sometimes it's important to also see the good, like how taking just five minutes to talk to a young person who is just beginning their journey in the racing business can be. By my estimate, each person listed below graciously spent five to 10 minutes of his or her time during a very busy Derby week visiting with a dozen students from Bluegrass Community and Technical College's Equine Studies program. Yet the impressions they left will last far,...

It was on the first Saturday in May, 2024 that Mystik Dan (Goldencents) ran the race of his life to win the GI Kentucky Derby by a nose over Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). One year and four starts later, he hasn't won again, but will hope to end the losing streak on the anniversary of his greatest triumph. On Saturday, Mystik Dan will take on seven others in the Lake Ouachita S. at Oaklawn Park. It will be his first start since he was beaten 20 3/4 lengths in the...

With better than three months left on the racing calendar for 2024, 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) has already locked up the 3-year-old filly championship, having dominated her peers in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, GI Acorn Stakes and GI Coaching Club American Oaks. She lost little in defeat when running fellow 'Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) to a head in the GI Travers Stakes, but she returns to her own sex for Saturday's $1-million GI Cotillion Stakes, the first half of a Grade I double in...

'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) drew gate six in a field of eight and was made the 4-5 morning-line favorite when post positions were drawn Monday for Saturday's GI Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia. Trainer Ken McPeek will once again give Brian Hernandez, Jr. a leg up on Thorpedo Anna, whose victories in the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Acorn Stakes and GI CCA Oaks have virtually clinched the 3-year-old filly championship with better than two months of racing left in 2024. She covered herself in...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, stable employee Gabriel Hilardo Rivera has been issued a six-year suspension and $75,000 fine by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), after three banned substances were found in his possession back in March. According to the posted final decision, a HIWU investigator "observed Gabriel Hilardo Rivera carry and attempt to conceal a black tackle box behind the rear tire of a vehicle while he was working...

Team Kenny McPeek--including jockey Brian Hernandez and exercise rider Danny Ramsey--will be honored along with the Backside Learning Center, turf writer Sean Clancy and broadcaster Laffit Pincay III during the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' 64th Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 30 in Del Mar, California. The NTWAB Annual Awards Dinner is the organization's only fundraiser, and a portion of the proceeds of the event will fund Thoroughbred industry charities and internships for prospective racing journalists. The 2024 NTWAB Awards Dinner will be held at The Brigantine Del Mar,...

It's been a magical year for jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., who rides the best 3-year-old filly in the country in Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and one of the best 3-year-old males in Mystik Dan (Goldencents). For the veteran rider that has meant wins in the GI Kentucky Oaks, the GI Kentucky Derby, the GI Acorn S. and the GI Coaching Club American Oaks. Thorpedo Anna will take on the boys in her next scheduled start, the GI DraftKings Travers S. Appearing on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast, presented by Keeneland,...

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. talks superstar filly Thorpedo Anna, who is bound for the GI Travers Stakes, on this week's TDN Writers' Room.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--It didn't seem possible for trainer Kenny McPeek to be any more confident in his filly, 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), as he was prior to her win in the GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs five weeks ago. But a short chat with the Kentucky-based trainer earlier in the week spoke volumes as to her ability to repeat in Friday's GI DK Horse Acorn S. Giving the afternoon's 27,529-strong crowd no real cause for concern at any point during the race, she unleashed a tour-de-force...