In the Cajun country of southwest Louisiana, horse racing has been a passion since the emergence of backcountry bush tracks in the early 1800s. Cajun country was once the breeding ground for many racers. greats, including Kentucky Derby (G1) winners Eric Guerin, Eddie Delahoussaye, Kent Desormeaux and Calvin Borel.
On May 4, a crowd of 156,710 people at Churchill Downs and millions of television viewers worldwide watched Brian Hernandez Jr. joins that exclusive group in the Derby 150. Thanks to his ride across the rails, his 18-1 shot Mystik Dan held by a nose Sierra Leone who himself finished nose to nose in third place Youth forever . It was the first three-horse photo in the Derby since 1947, when Guerin and Jet Pilot scored with a head.
Hernandez followed advice that has been passed down to Cajun athletes for generations: “Save ground. The fastest way is along the fence.”
That was the route Borel used to earn his commission Street feel (2007), Mine That Bird (2009), Super Saver (2010), and Hernandez studied those reruns.
“I watched Calvin ride all those Derbys, and with Mystik Dan in the 3 hole, I decided we would roll the dice,” Hernandez said. “He went through some tough times and never thought about doing that.”
NBC analyst Jerry Bailey, who has ridden two Derby winners, said, “It was a brilliant decision by Brian Hernandez to take the home turn. It was the difference between winning and losing. “
About four inches.
Hernandez, who also provided instruction Thorpedo Anna to victory in the May 3 Kentucky Oaks (G1), is a link in a chain that stretches back to his longtime agent’s grandfather, 55-year-old Frank Bernis. They have been together for 12 years, a rarity for a partnership in such a volatile sport. “Frank was the greatest,” Hernandez said. “Nothing bothers him.”
Bernis said it has been a great relationship over the years.
“Brian is a consummate professional,” said Bernis. There’s no drama at all. “Always showed up when called upon, never complained about having to work horses in the morning and did a great job in the afternoon.”
Bernis’s father, Glynn, was called Tee Red because he was a small boy (tee is short for petit (little) in French) and had red hair. Name a job in racing and Tee Red has it. He has a gift for words and a million funny stories. “Oh, my dad is a character,” Frank said.
Sadly, Tee Red passed away at the age of 75 last November after a long illness. How he would enjoy seeing his son share in the glory of the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double. Frank said he “definitely” thought about it.
Jack Bernis, Frank’s grandfather, mentored young racers—and sons—Cecil, Kenward and Tee Red, who won his first race at age 5 on a bush track. Tee Red was a national championship apprentice in 1964 when he won 275 races—a season total that ranked ahead of future Hall of Famers Bill Shoemaker, Ron Turcotte, Manuel Ycaza, Braulio Baeza and Bobby Ussery.
In 1980, Tee Red, along with 11-year-old Jack and Frank, went to the Derby as trainer with 58-1 shot Tonka Wakhan, who finished 10th for Melvin Holland. Tee Red emphasized the saving of places to jockey Cecil Borel, who later as a trainer passed that wisdom on to his younger brother. Cecil’s standing orders to Calvin: “Put that vacuum on the railing and take the short route.”
It’s called paint scraping, which is literally what Hernandez did in the Derby. Evidence: a white mark on the rail on his left boot.
“When we got back to the jockeys’ room, I said to my valet, Shane, ‘Let’s keep that boot because it could have historical significance going back to the 150th Derby,’” Hernandez said. ‘ “
Shane is Shane Borel, the grandson of Calvin and Cecil, who produced silk for Hernandez for 20 years. Cajun culture is primarily about family and everyone knows each other. Always that.
Robby Albarado handily won the 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1). Swiss skydiver for Kentuckian Kenny McPeek, who trains Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan. “Robby is a big part of the Oaks and Derby winners,” Hernandez said, approaching them in the morning.
Albarado, a two-time Horse of the Year regular curled up and Horse of the Year Mine shaft , was Pete LeBlanc’s protégé, who taught him to ride and bought him his first saddle. Pete is the son of owner-trainer Pierre LeBlanc, for whom Cecil, Kenward and Tee Red Bernis rode as children. Like Tee Red, Kenward turned to exercise because of weight problems, and Brian Hernandez Sr. won races for him at the delta down. Hernandez Jr. won the race for Kenward Bernis at other tracks. And so it continues.
Brian and his younger brother Colby, who have ridden more than 2,400 winners, learned the basics from their father. Brian Sr. raced from 1989-2014, primarily at Delta Downs, Evangeline DownsAnd Racetracks & Slots at Fair Grounds, won many shares and earned $13.43 million. His career overlapped with that of his sons and they competed against each other many times.
The junior and senior enjoyed a “surreal moment” on their way to the Derby winners’ lap. “My dad leaned down and said, ‘I’m so proud of you.”’ Thirty-two years after a 6-year-old boy declared that one day he would win the Kentucky Derby, that day has finally come .
It’s been a long journey. Brian galloped horses at the age of 12 at trainer Dale Angelle’s farm before beginning his professional career in 2003 at the age of 18. He and Colby rode Shetland pony in the fields, growing up on the backs of Evangeline Downs and dreams of becoming a jockey like their father, whom Brian calls “my idol.”
“Dad and Angelle not only taught Colby and I how to ride horses, but also how to work with horses,” Brian said. “My father was an outstanding professional who instilled in us a strong work ethic.”
Brian Sr. have set an example.
Hernandez Jr. “I remember jumping in the car and going from Lafayette to Fair Grounds to watch him drive in the afternoon,” said. “Then he would drive to Delta Downs to get his night pass, go back to Lafayette and do it all again the next day.”
Lafayette is 140 miles west of Fair Grounds in New Orleans, 228 miles east of Delta Downs, on the other side of Louisiana, less than 10 miles from the Texas border. From Delta Downs to Lafayette is 98 miles. Total distance: 466 miles.
Hernandez Jr. says: “My dad used to ride on the bush tracks, but it wasn’t until his early 20s that he decided to start riding professionally. “He had two young children so he stayed in Louisiana to raise us. He came home every night.”
Brian Sr. Still have a lot of energy. Two nights after the Derby, he flew from Louisville, Ky., to New Orleans with Brian and his wife, Jamie. They landed around midnight and Brian Sr. Drive to Lafayette.
Hernandez Jr. “To this day he still works horses for (trainer) Sam David,” said. “He probably got home around two, then got up at five to gallop to Evangeline.”
The Cajun brotherhood of the saddle is tight-knit. Hernandez’s Oaks-Derby sweep, the first since Borel’s in 2009, delighted Louisiana drivers past and present. Brian heard “from almost everyone. Calvin, Mark Guidry, Shane Sellers, Kent, Corey Lanerie and we met Robby Saturday for dinner.”
Jamie Hernandez grew up in Ohio in a racing family and was an assistant coach for Steve Asmussen and Steve Margolis. Even though she knew the fiercely competitive nature of the sport, she was still surprised by the camaraderie among the Cajun riders.
“I told her we could be friends after the race was over,” Brian said, “but before that, we had work to do.”
Sweeping the Oaks and Derby is a rare achievement, but Brian and Jamie together have a unique achievement. Five years before they met, he won the 2004 Eclipse Award as champion apprentice. Jamie won the 2013 Eclipse Award for best photograph, showing John Velazquez riding the Horse of the Year Tri Dan just before they crossed the finish line in the Fireworks Handicap (G2T) on a rainy June evening. The intriguing image creates the illusion that they are racing through a blizzard.
“It was the worst night of the year,” Jamie said after being informed of the award. “There were flashes of lightning all around us and the reflection of the grandstand lights in the shot made the raindrops look like snow.”
She was standing on a ladder on the inside railing of Churchill Downs’ turf when Velazquez and Wise Dan sped past.
“It was an incredible shot,” Brian said. “I don’t know too many couples who have dueling Eclipses.”
Jamie put himself in the right position at the right time, pressed the button at the perfect time, and won big. Just like Brian did with Mystik Dan on the first Saturday in May.
Ed McNamara is the author of “Cajun Racing: From Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown.”
