On September 21, the horse racing community was on edge as champion jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. found himself in a serious situation at Churchill Downs. In the third race, the two-year-old colt, Sgt. Garcia, that Hernandez was riding got injured in one of its front legs close to the five-sixteenths pole, which made the horse fall and threw Hernandez off. Things took a serious turn when the jockey, who had just about a year ago won both the 2024 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, was quickly taken to the intensive care unit at the University of Louisville Hospital.

Initial reports from his wife, Jamie Hernandez, confirmed grave injuries including seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated liver that required an immediate surgical procedure, with doctors closely monitoring internal bleeding. “Jockey life isn’t for the faint of heart. Physically and mentally draining, Thank you for the prayers. Please keep them coming,” Jamie posted on social media. Sadly, the horse, Sgt. Garcia, had to be euthanized because of the injuries he sustained.

Right after the accident, everyone was really focused on making sure Hernandez was stable. Today, the racing community is feeling a wave of relief and optimism after hearing some good news about the jockey’s condition. Horse racing reporter Jennie Rees shared on X, saying, “Wonderful news about jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. Tommy Drury just left seeing him in hospital. Reports that BJ is in v good spirits (even telling one-liners). He will have a surgical procedure tomorrow to stabilize his (7 fractured) ribs. But he hopes to be moved out of ICU to a regular room today.”

Besides the good news about his health, it also mentioned what’s coming up next in his medical care. There was a sense of hopeful anticipation that he might be moved from the ICU to a regular hospital room later that day, which would be a big step showing that he was getting better. The upcoming surgery to fix his ribs is an important part of his recovery, especially after dealing with those serious issues related to his liver and lung.

Getting back to full health will take some time, but the positive update from the hospital shows that Brian Hernandez Jr.’s determination, which we all saw on the track, will really help him in this journey. But as the horse racing incident was happening, what was going through his mind?

Questioning his own horse racing career

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. shared a deep reflection on the intense mental struggle that comes with being a professional rider after facing a serious injury. As reported by TDN, he started off by sharing his experience, pointing out, “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.”

He pointed out that every jockey knows about this risk right from the start. It’s a tough reality that they have to keep tucked away in their minds just to do their job.

The heart of what he’s saying really comes down to the intense emotional rollercoaster he went through after his accident. While he was in that ambulance, he faced a wave of intense fear that comes with such a traumatic experience. He said, “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.”

What happened back then was just plain scary. So, with the jockey on the recovery path, we’ll just have to wait and see if his horse racing season is truly done or if he can still get back in the saddle for the rest of it.