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Jockey Of The Month: Pablo Morales Continues Living The Dream With New Personal Best

From 2017-2019, Pablo Morales rode 200 or more winners a year while establishing a personal-best earnings mark of $4,053,906 in 2019.

Despite those accomplishments, no one could predict the outcome when Morales left Tampa Bay Downs last December to compete at Aqueduct, known for its high purse money and strong jockey colony. And more than a few observers clucked “I told you so” when Morales started the 2020-2021 winter meeting at “The Big A” with only two victories from 53 mounts.

Behind his youthful, placid face, though, lies a steely determination to succeed. Morales (who had ridden four winners at Aqueduct during a “trial run” in early November of 2020) rebounded from his slow start to finish ninth in the winter meeting standings with 24 winners, including three stakes victories.

“I don't think I killed it, but I probably won enough races that people noticed,” Morales said.

That experience set the table for Morales to dominate this year's Presque Isle Downs meeting in Erie, Pa., where he rode 120 winners, 76 more than the runner-up. The 33-year-old product of Lima, Peru won with 32.2 percent of his mounts, a staggering figure for a 15-week meeting.

Morales has returned home for the 2021-2022 Tampa Bay Downs meeting, eager to see if he can challenge for a title among Oldsmar's deep colony. He has done nothing to disappoint his supporters early, winning nine races from his first 31 mounts to earn the Salt Rock Tavern Jockey of the Month Award.

Morales has also set a new personal single-season earnings mark in 2021 of $4.12-million-plus.

Agent Paula Bacon, for one, looks for the good times to continue.

“I think his confidence is better than ever, and that has gotten him even further,” said Bacon, a retired jockey. “He's confident in his decisions, and he has real good judgment. And I don't think anyone can out-finish him.”

Morales, who in recent years has turned to training in the ring with a boxing instructor to keep strong, believes he is at the peak of his skills. But he isn't taking anything for granted, aware of the dedication needed to stay at his current level.

“I love winning and I love racing. That is the thing I know how to do best,” said Morales, who has 2,268 career victories and has ridden at least 100 winners each year since 2010. “My goal, really, is maintaining – being able to keep working, hopefully keep getting titles and having a better season than before.

“My dream was always to come to the United States and be a jockey, and I get to live it and get the benefits of giving my family (wife Erin and children Sophia and Camilo) a good life.”

In the meantime, his quick start aside, Morales will keep fine-tuning the staying power that made 2021 such an excellent year and is reflected in so many of his come-from-behind victories.

“I can do whatever is needed, but usually I'm a guy who likes to sit on a horse and let them do their own running early instead of riding them off their feet,” he said. “When you have some horse left underneath you, they usually give you a pretty good kick and you're able to finish strong on them.”

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Jockeys’ Guild Virtual Assembly Includes Presentations On Mental Health Awareness, Proposed HISA Regulations

The Jockeys' Guild held its Annual Meeting virtually again this year on Dec. 7, 2021. The virtual meeting was attended by active Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse jockeys from around the country.

The highlights included a synopsis of the short film THE FALL by Equine Productions' Visual Director Nathan Horrocks, who co-directed the feature with Cold Feet star Robert Bathurst. Horrocks has been in racing most of his life and has witnessed firsthand the mental health challenges that jockeys face on a daily basis. His hope is to raise awareness of the mental health struggles within the sport of racing and let jockeys know they do not have to suffer in silence.

Racing advocate and long-time supporter of the jockeys Sen. Damon Thayer (KY-R) addressed the members on the compromise he was instrumental in accomplishing in Kentucky regarding the use of the riding crop, as well as the increase in losing mount fees at select tracks. His involvement, as well as his continued support, is invaluable.

Dr. David Lambert B.V.Sc. (Hons.), M.R.C.V.S, President and Founder of Equine Analysis, in Midway, Kentucky, presented “21st Century Solutions: Stopping Horses From Breaking Down.” The system, known as Stride Safe, employs sensors, which are placed in saddle towels, to track the movements of the horse and gather data which can be used to protect horses, and in turn, jockeys from life-threatening injuries. The system is currently being utilized at NYRA.

Ann McGovern, director of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (“HISA”) Racetrack Safety standing committee, provided the jockeys with an update about the current status of the proposed racetrack safety rules, which have been formally submitted to the Federal Trade Commission. She also advised members about the intent of the Authority to provide regulations assuring for the safety of the horses, thereby, improving the safety of the jockeys. Jockeys voiced their concerns regarding changes that have occurred with racing, as well as their ongoing worry with regards to the safety issues created by the restrictive use of the riding crop and the penalties being proposed by HISA. The Jockeys' Guild will submit public comments to the FTC and encouraged others to do so as well.

Nancy LaSala, Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (“PDJF”) President, and PDJF Board Member and horse owner/breeder Paul Braverman gave an update on the PDJF. Mr. Braverman emphasized that the PDJF has made a commitment to the disabled jockeys for the rest of their lives, yet there is no committed source of funding from the industry. Like many other non-profit organizations, COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their customary fundraising efforts and was a stark reminder of the need for institutional funding. In response to horse owner's requests, the PDJF has created a new initiative called “Rider's Up” that has the full support of the PDJF Board and has been presented to many industry stakeholders. The PDJF is hopeful that contributions generated from the Rider's Up Initiative by horse owners will enable the PDJF to increase its monthly stipends to recipients who have suffered career-ending catastrophic injuries.

In support of this worthy cause, the Jockeys' Guild Senate members voted to adopt a new policy, whereby winning Jockeys' Guild members of races with purses over $70,000 will contribute 0.005 percent of their earnings, capped at $200. This would be a separate program from the “one dollar program” that is already in place and would continue to be offered at the tracks that do not offer purses of $70,000 or more. Like the horse owners program, the jockeys will have the ability to opt-out. The Guild Senate formally adopted this proposal to support the PDJF's Riders Up initiative with the intent of encouraging the horsemen organizations to follow suit, such that both the winning owner and winning jockey can help to make a critical impact on the welfare of these disabled riders. It should be noted that many active jockeys already contribute money and their time to the PDJF, as well as donations to other jockeys who are injured.

The riders in attendance re-elected John Velazquez and Mike Smith as Co-chairmen, Javier Castellano and Julien Leparoux, along with newly elected Quarter Horse jockey James Flores, as Vice-Chairs, Joel Campbell as Treasurer and Rodney Prescott as Secretary. In addition, Alex Birzer, Joe Bravo, and Drayden Van Dyke were re-elected to the Board of Directors.

In a closed session, the members reviewed 2021 financials and the 2022 budget.

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Frost Speaks Out After Bullying Ban: ‘If I Allowed It To Happen I’d Be Going Back On Everything I Stand For’

Top female national hunt jockey Bryony Frost opened up to The Sun on Tuesday, speaking to the media for the first time since the British Horseracing Authority issued an 18-month ban to jockey Robbie Dunne for bullying and harassment.

Frost revealed the reasoning behind her decision to take the bullying matter to the BHA.

“In the end it came down to two things,” Frost told The Sun. “There was the point of I don't believe anyone should make anyone feel that way, that you're not worthy of being who you are.

“And the main one was I wouldn't be a decent human being if I one day saw someone go through what I did, knowing I could have done something to prevent it happening again.

“If I allowed it to happen I'd be going back on everything I stand for in my own rules of life, how you treat people. I didn't want to see anyone go through what I did.”

Over the course of the five-day hearing into Dunne's conduct, Frost's representative Louis Weston told the panel that Dunne had used “foul, sexually abusive and misogynistic language” toward Frost as well as threats to “cause her serious physical harm.”

Dunne's representative Roderick Moore argued that other female jockeys had not spoken out about malevolent behavior from Dunne.

Dunne gave testimony during the second week, arguing that when he said he would “put her through a wing,” he didn't mean it as a threat.

Reactions across the racing industry have been heavily mixed, and Frost hopes to find some sense of normalcy moving forward.

“I just want to enjoy my riding, I want to move forward. . . I just want to be me,” she told The Sun.

From Shetland Ponies To Graded Stakes Winners: Brian, Colby Hernandez On Continuing Family’s Racing Legacy

Thanks to a successful year for both Brian and Colby, the Hernandez brothers are quickly ascending up the ranks of jockey sibling duos.

Brian Hernandez Jr., 36, began galloping horses at the age of 12, growing up on the backside of Evangeline Downs in Louisiana. He began his career as a professional jockey in 2003 at Delta Downs and began going back and forth between the Louisiana and Kentucky circuits the following year. Brian currently has lifetime earnings of $99,790,140 and has won 2,271 races, as well as an Eclipse Award in 2004 as outstanding apprentice jockey.

Colby Hernandez, 31, followed quickly in his older brother's footsteps with his first start as a professional jockey coming in 2006 at Evangeline Downs. Colby rode primarily on the Louisiana circuit until 2020 when the pandemic-related track closures prompted him to give the Kentucky circuit a try. He has gone back and forth between the two states ever since. Colby has current lifetime earnings of $51,375,010 and has won 2,334 races.

With their careers overlapping, Colby and Brian have both faced off with not only each other, but their father as well before his retirement. Colby and Brian's father, Brian Hernandez Sr., had a riding career spanning from 1989 to 2014 with lifetime earnings of $13,431,686. The multiple stakes winning jockey was most notably the main rider for trainer Dale Angelle at Delta Downs.

The brothers, currently members of the Fair Grounds jockey colony in their native Louisiana, discussed their relationship, and reflected upon a year of many achievements.

Question: How did growing up with a father for a jockey influence your decision to become a jockey?

Brian Hernandez Jr.: “He was a big part of it because we grew up watching him ride and always going out to the track in the mornings with him. Instead of going to daycare when we were on summer break from school, we would go out there to the racetrack every morning. We kind of grew up on the backside of Evangeline Downs, so that was a big influence on both of us for choosing our career paths. Growing up on the backside had an advantage because we kind of knew everybody and everybody watched over us so it was a pretty easy decision.”

Colby Hernandez: “Growing up, we were at the racetrack every single weekend when we didn't have school. Since I was a little kid, I remember always wanting to be a jockey.”

Q: What is it like to be able to share this experience of being professional jockeys with each other?

Brian: “It's a lot of fun, especially down here in New Orleans. Both of our families stay up in Kentucky for the winter time because our kids are all in school, so we come down to New Orleans and we actually share an apartment together right there by the track. We're in the same corner and our dad is actually our valet, so it's fun to come down here and compete against each other. It kind of brings out the best in both of us. Growing up, we would always race Shetland ponies in the field and we always wondered if we would ever get the chance to be jockeys so to see the level of success that we have so far has been really rewarding.”

Colby: “It's a great thing to have day in and day out in the jock's room together. We have a pretty close bond. We're always happy for each other. You do get competitive, but you want each other to do well.”

Q: Colby, in what ways have you looked up to your older brother during your career?

Colby: “The whole time I've ridden, I've competed in Louisiana and just in the past two years I've been going back and forth between Kentucky and Louisiana. Watching him ride the better races and the better horses influenced me to want to get to that next level.”

Q: Was your brother influential in your decision to start riding more on the Kentucky circuit?

Colby: “A little bit. What really helped me make that move, though, was Covid. All the racetracks were shut down and he was talking about how Churchill was going to start up so I said, 'Alright let me try and give it a shot' and I gave it a shot and I loved it. I love being there now.”

Q: What is the best advice your brother has given you during your career?

Colby: “On the better horses, he kind of helped me out and just taught me how to ride the better races.”

Q: How did it feel to go 1-2 with each other in a graded stakes race at Keeneland this fall?

Brian: “To be able to make that transition from the Louisiana circuit up to Kentucky and do as well as we did is very rewarding.”

Colby: “It was very exciting for us.”

Q: Brian, have you enjoyed getting to see more of your brother since his fairly recent start on the Kentucky circuit?

Brian: “Yeah. It's good because of our families. I have three kids and he has two, so it's great for the kids to be able to grow up together and play together because they never really got to do that before. For years, I was always telling Colby, 'You're good enough to make it on the Kentucky circuit, you've just gotta make that move,' and to see him finally do it and be as successful as he has been, it's just really rewarding.

Q: What has been your biggest career highlight this year?

Brian: “Probably the opening weekend of Keeneland (Fall meet). I think we won six races the first three days and for one of them to be the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity and then to follow that the next day and win the Bourbon, that was probably the biggest weekend of the year success-wise. Just to be a part of those horses who jumped up and ran when we needed them to, it was a very successful weekend. It was great to see those 2-year-olds win between Tiz The Bomb and Rattle N Roll. We always thought they had talent in them so to be able to showcase that was just special.”

Colby: “I had my first graded stakes win at Belmont, and I ended up winning four graded stakes this year so that was a pretty big highlight for me.”

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