Hernandez’s Riding Passion Traces to Cajun Country

Hernandez followed advice that’s been passed down to Cajun jocks for generations: “Save ground. The fastest way around is along the fence.”

“I watched Calvin ride all those Derbys, and with Mystik Dan being in the 3-hole I decided that we were going to roll the dice,” Hernandez said. “He went through a couple of tight spots and never thought twice about doing it.”

NBC analyst Jerry Bailey, who rode two Derby winners, said, “That was an excellent decision by Brian Hernandez to force his way through on the turn for home. That was the difference between winning and losing.”

By about four inches.

Hernandez, who also guided Thorpedo Anna  to victory in the May 3 Kentucky Oaks (G1), is a link in a chain stretching back to the grandfather of his longtime agent, 55-year-old Frank Bernis. They’ve been together for 12 years, a rarity for a partnership in such a volatile sport. “Frank’s the greatest,” Hernandez said. “Nothing bothers him.”

Bernis said it’s been a great relationship over the years. 

“Brian is a consummate professional. No drama,” Bernis said. “Always shows up when he’s supposed to show up, never complains about having to work horses in the mornings, and does a great job in the afternoons.”

Bernis’ father, Glynn, was called Tee Red because he was an undersized boy (tee is short for petit (little) in French) and had red hair. Name a job in racing and Tee Red held it. He had the gift of gab and a million hilarious stories. “Oh, my dad was a character,” Frank said.

Sadly, Tee Red died at 75 last November after a long illness. How he would have loved seeing his son share the glory of a Kentucky Oaks-Derby double. Frank said he “sure has” thought about that.

Jack Bernis, Frank’s grandfather, schooled his young riders–and sons–Cecil, Kenward, and Tee Red, who won his first race at age 5 on a bush track. Tee Red was the nation’s champion apprentice in 1964 when he won 275 races—a total for the season that ranked ahead of future Hall of Famers Bill Shoemaker, Ron Turcotte, Manuel Ycaza, Braulio Baeza, and Bobby Ussery.

In 1980 Tee Red, accompanied by Jack and 11-year-old Frank, got to the Derby as a trainer with 58-1 shot Tonka Wakhan, who finished 10th for Melvin Holland. Tee Red emphasized saving ground to jockey Cecil Borel, who later as a trainer passed along that wisdom to his kid brother. Cecil’s standing order to Calvin: “Put that sucker on the rail and take the short way around.”

It’s called scraping the paint, literally what Hernandez did in the Derby. The evidence: a white spot from the rail on his left boot.  

“When we got back to the jockeys’ room,” Hernandez said, “I said to my valet, Shane, ‘Let’s save that boot because it might have historical significance being from the 150th Derby.’ “

Shane is Shane Borel, Calvin and Cecil’s nephew, who has been laying out Hernandez’s silks for 20 years. Cajun culture is all about family, and everybody knows everybody else. It’s always been that way.

Robby Albarado won the 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1) on the filly Swiss Skydiver for Kentuckian Kenny McPeek, who trains Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan. “Robby was a big part of the Oaks and Derby winners by getting on them in the mornings,” Hernandez said.

Brian and younger brother Colby, who’s ridden more than 2,400 winners, learned the basics from their father. Brian Sr. rode from 1989-2014, mainly at Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs, and Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, winning multiple stakes and earning $13.43 million. His career overlapped with those of his sons, and they competed against each other many times.

Senior and junior savored “a surreal moment” on the way to the Derby winner’s circle. “My dad leaned over and said, ‘I’m just so proud of you.”’ Thirty-two years after a 6-year-old proclaimed that someday he would win the Kentucky Derby, that day finally arrived.

It had been a long journey. Brian galloped horses at age 12 at trainer Dale Angelle’s farm before starting his professional career in 2003 at 18. He and Colby rode Shetland ponies in fields, grew up on the backstretch of Evangeline Downs and dreamed of becoming jockeys like their father, whom Brian called “my idol.” 

“Dad and Mr. Angelle taught me and Colby not just how to ride but how to work with horses,” Brian said. “My father was a consummate professional who instilled a strong work ethic in us.”

Brian Sr. led by example.

“I remember jumping in the car and going from Lafayette to the Fair Grounds to watch him ride in the afternoon,” Hernandez Jr. said. “Then he’d drive to Delta Downs to ride the night card, go back to Lafayette and do it all over again the next day.”

Lafayette is 140 miles west of the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, which is 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, it’s 98 miles. Total distance: 466 miles.

“My dad had ridden the bush tracks, but he didn’t decide to start riding professionally until his early 20s,” Hernandez Jr. said. “He already had two young kids, so he stayed in Louisiana to raise us. He came home every night.”

Brian Sr. still has plenty 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. drove to Lafayette.

“To this day he still works horses for (trainer) Sam David,” Hernandez Jr. said. “He probably got home about two, then got up at five to gallop at Evangeline.”

The Cajun brotherhood of the saddle is tightly knit. Hernandez’s Oaks-Derby sweep, the first since Borel’s in 2009, delighted Louisiana riders past and present. Brian heard “from just about everybody. Calvin, Mark Guidry, Shane Sellers, Kent, Corey Lanerie, and we saw Robby Saturday at dinner.”

Jamie Hernandez grew up in Ohio in a racing family and was an assistant trainer for Steve Asmussen and Steve Margolis. Despite knowing firsthand the intensely competitive nature of the sport, she marvels at the camaraderie among Cajun riders.

“I tell her we can be friends after the race is over,” Brian said, “but before that, we’ve got a job to do.”