The horse racing community experienced a huge shock when champion jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. got seriously hurt in a fall at the Churchill Downs racetrack. The incident occurred when Hernandez’s mount, Sgt. Garcia broke down, resulting in devastating injuries for the two-year-old colt, who was later euthanized. Hernandez, the regular rider for both Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna and 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, sustained severe injuries, including seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated liver, requiring immediate surgery at the University of Louisville Hospital.

Though Hernandez is now stable and recovering well after his surgery, this sudden vacancy on the jockey side of things created a complex puzzle for McPeek to solve under the pressure of the upcoming championship races. The biggest decision on the table was about Thorpedo Anna, who is not only the current Horse of the Year but also the defending champion of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

According to a post from FanDuel Racing on X, McPeek shared some exciting news about the star filly, saying, “Torpedo Anna is gonna be ridden by Flavien Prat. He’s gonna ride her Spinster, Distaff if everything goes right. Outside chance, she’d go to Classic, but I think it’s doubtful.” Prat, the Eclipse Award-winning jockey, is gearing up to ride Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland on October 5. If everything goes smoothly, he plans to stick with her for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 1 at Del Mar.

McPeek also shared his deep concern for the Kentucky Derby winner, highlighting the jockey’s toughness while recognizing the seriousness of the injuries, which included several cracked ribs and a collapsed lung.

“Well, what a rough weekend, you know, for everybody but mostly Brian. I mean, I’ve only shared some texts with him and we’ve been mostly going through Jamie, his wife, but for those that don’t know, you know, he had three or seven cracked ribs, had a lacerated liver, and also collapsed lungs. So, he’s tougher than I’d ever be. I’d be out forever on that one, but he evidently was up and around his hospital room last night,” the trainer said. Looking back on that moment, the words from the jockey really highlighted just how horrifying the incident was.

The Kentucky Derby winner questioned his entire horse racing career

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. opened up about the tough mental battle that comes with being a professional rider, especially after dealing with a serious injury. He kicked things off by sharing his experience, saying, “Any time you’re dealing with a profession where an ambulance follows you around the track proves the point that it’s a pretty dangerous job.”

Hernandez Jr. mentioned that every jockey is aware of this risk from the very beginning. It’s a hard truth that they have to keep hidden in their minds just to get through their work. What he’s really getting at is the wild emotional ride he experienced after his accident.

While he was in that ambulance, he felt a rush of intense fear that often comes with such a traumatic experience, stating, “At the same time yesterday sitting there in the back of the ambulance, at one point you’re saying I don’t ever want to ever do this again. The next second, you’re thinking ‘When can I come back? I have all these good horses to ride.’ You start preparing to get back out there and you try to miss as few days as possible.”

Well, with McPeek picking a replacement for Hernandez Jr. for now, we’ll just have to wait and see how long it actually takes for the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey to recover from those serious injuries he dealt with.