Juan Hernandez

Highlighted by the buzz around Flightline (Tapit)'s stellar GI TVG Pacific Classic performance in the track's signature event, Del Mar had record wagering and field size for the 31-day summer meet that ended Sunday, as well as a continued excellent safety record for the fourth consecutive year. There were no catastrophic injuries among 2,688 starters in the meet's 294 races. The 83rd summer meet at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) set new records for average daily handle with $18.69 million a day, an increase of 1.5% from last year's $18.41...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Del Mar Date: 09/02/2022 Licensee: Keron Thomas, owner Penalty:...

Florent Geroux, who currently sits seventh in the national earnings rankings for jockeys in 2022, will ride in California full-time for the first time this summer at Del Mar, according to a report in Blood-Horse. Geroux, perennially one of the leading rider in Kentucky in the spring and fall, used to spend summers in Saratoga, but had moved his tack to Ellis the past few years. Geroux's agent, Doug Bredar, told Blood-Horse his client will ride for "almost everybody at the top of the standings" at Del Mar and that...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 03/17/2022 Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey Penalty: $500 fine Violation: Excessive use of the whip Explainer: Jockey Flavien Prat is fined $500.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8)(d) (Use of Riding Crop--more than six times)...

Baoma Corporation's Eda (Munnings), making her first start since winning the GI Starlet S. last December, went wire-to-wire to win the GIII Santa Ysabel S. by a half-length over her late-closing stablemate Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) at Santa Anita Sunday. Sent off at 3-1, Eda stepped right out to the early lead as even-money favorite Under the Stars sat just off her flank while racing three wide down the backstretch with Ain't Easy (Into Mischief) to her inside. Jockey Juan Hernandez asked Eda for more approaching the quarter-pole...

Queen Goddess was trying dirt for the first time, but looked right at home with an easy wire-to-wire victory in the GII American Oaks--which was automatically downgraded after it came off the turf Sunday at Santa Anita. Kicked straight into the lead by Juan Hernandez, Queen Goddess assumed command after the opening furlong and cut out the running while racing a bit off the inside turning down the backstretch. Moving comfortably through a half in :47.62, the dark bay filly lobbed them along comfortably as she began to work clear...

The Turf has no other odyssey quite like the one that ends at Churchill Downs. Where the Epsom original becomes ever less diverse, thanks to an inundation of two-bit speed in the European gene pool, the Kentucky Derby remains a faithful index of the grandeur and variegation of America's cultural self-image. From coast to coast, the thousands of potential winners who grazed their first spring pasture three years ago are now being winnowed down, trial by trial, to the 20 who finally share that momentous walk from the backside on...