On September 21, the horse racing world was rocked when Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. took a serious fall during the third race at Churchill Downs. The incident happened when his horse, the two-year-old colt Sgt. Garcia, suffered a serious injury to its left foreleg near the five-sixteenths pole, which led to the horse falling and throwing Hernandez off. It was a tough situation: Sgt. Garcia had to be euthanized, and Hernandez ended up in the intensive care unit at the University of Louisville Hospital. He had a lacerated liver, a collapsed lung, and seven broken ribs, which meant he needed several surgeries in the days that followed.

After the accident, there was a huge outpouring of support from fans, fellow jockeys, and the wider racing community. Kenneth McPeek, whose horses Mystik Dan and Thorpedo Anna were often ridden by Hernandez, shared his thoughts on the jockey’s situation, saying, “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.”

As time went on after that scary moment, the jockey showed how much he appreciated the community’s support in a heartfelt video message, which was shared on the FanDuel Racing X account. The Kentucky Derby winner connected with his fans when he took a moment to say, “Just wanted to come on and thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. It means a lot to me, you know, to see how much you guys have all reached out. And in this time, it’s meant the world to myself and my family. We, uh, all you guys’ messages and things you’ve sent over have, uh, have really helped the healing process quite significantly, and I just wanted to thank you guys all again.”

Hernandez is on the mend and has been released from the hospital. He’s now healing at home in Simpsonville. In interviews, the Kentucky Derby winner has talked about that traumatic event, remembering how right after it happened, he was in the ambulance, feeling like he never wanted to ride again.

But then, just like that, he started thinking about getting back in the saddle and the great horses waiting for him. His family and fans really drive his determination. Healing from these big injuries is definitely going to take some time, but the support from the community’s prayers has really been a vital part of the journey. But even though he wasn’t there, the horse he rode still made an impression with a different rider.

The 2024 Kentucky Derby winner kept his pace

As we headed into the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes, Mystik Dan was the favorite at 3-2. Even without his usual rider, Brian Hernandez Jr., the horse trained by Kenny McPeek seemed completely at home at the Twin Spires on Saturday night. Willy D took off right from the start and grabbed an early lead, with Prince of Power and Banishing right on his tail in second and third place, respectively.

Mystik Dan stayed right on their heels and maintained his spot in front of Disarm as they approached the first turn. The winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby had to hang back for a while during Saturday’s race, just waiting for the right moment to make a move when space finally opened up in front of him. Disarm pulled off a four-wide rally around the three-sixteenths pole to take the lead, while Mystik Dan was still stuck behind a bunch of horses as they came out of the far turn. So, Arrieta noticed the gap between Prince of Power and Banishing and skillfully directed McPeek’s star horse to settle right inside the rail.

From there, he went after Disarm and ended up clinching the win by three-quarters of a length. So, McPeek’s gamble actually paid off in the end. Even though Hernandez wasn’t in the saddle, the horse really moved through the field nicely. Now that they’ve won, it’ll be interesting to see if the trainer decides to let his champion colt take a shot at the Breeders’ Cup.