Pilots of the Caribbean
Puerto Rican jockeys ride high across North America with Canadian crown jewel in sights
For jockey Rafael Hernandez, the road to Canada’s most prestigious horse race began in a one-room school in Puerto Rico.
The small island in the Caribbean, a territory of the United States, has always been famous for producing top-level baseball players such as former Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar, Roberto Clemente and Jorge Posada. But a lesser known fact is that Puerto Rico is also the breeding ground for some of horse rac- ing’s best jockeys, including Hernandez, a native of San Lorenzo.
The 33-year-old has been a professional rider for 14 years and currently sits atop Woodbine Racetrack’s jockey ranks with $2 million in purse earnings this year. That number could jump significantly on Saturday, when Hernandez rides Say the Word in the 159th running of the $1-million Queen’s Plate.
“Me and my agent decided to go with him,” Hernandez said of Say the Word, a 20-to-1 long shot in the Plate. “He’s getting better and better and I think the 11⁄ 4- mile will be no problem for him.”
Hernandez will not be the only Puerto Rican riding in the Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. Hall of famer John Velazquez and Jose Ortiz, reigning champion in North America, will be in town for the race. Velazquez has Wonder Gadot in the big dance, while Ortiz picks up the mount on Say the Word’s stablemate Strike Me Down.
Both Say the Word and Strike Me Down are bred and owned by Sam-Son Farm of Milton, Ont., the iconic stable that is in search of its sixth Plate win.
Puerto Rico became the hotbed of elite jockeys thanks to the Escuela Vocacional Hipica, or Vocational Equestrian School of Puerto Rico, the state-sponsored riding school inside Hipodromo Camarero, the island’s only racetrack. Four of the top 10 jockeys in North America are from Puerto Rico, a startling statistic given its population is three million and the horse racing industry is small.
As a young boy, Hernandez would go to the racetrack with his grandfather to watch races and decided to become a jockey because he “always liked adrenaline.” At 15, he applied to the school and had to undergo a physical assessment and interview.
Over the next two years he took a comprehensive set of classes to prepare for racetrack life — which, according to school director Ana Delia Velazquez, includes conversational English, professional ethics, physical education and the history of horse racing — and was given a horse to groom and ride.
The classes “allow them to learn more about the sport and to acknowledge what is expected from them once they became professional,” Velazquez said in an email to the Star.
Graham Motion, trainer of Say the Word and Strike Me Down, says the level of skill combined with professionalism that young jockeys from Puerto Rico exude is a difference-maker in the sport.
“Look, the success of the school has been phenomenal,” Motion said. “What distinguishes the jockeys from the school is their demeanour, the way they conduct their person- al lives and their business. Johnny (Velazquez) has been a leader and it shows.
“They are also very patient, well-rounded riders,” Motion added.
Once students become comfortable with riding racehorses they are required to participate in 18 practice races at the track, where they are monitored and critiqued by teachers and industry professionals.
Most jockey school grads then head to the mainland, where more opportunities await. Two days after completing his studies, Hernandez flew to Tampa where he met his uncle Herbie Rivera Jr., a former jockey who helped the fledgling rider make connections and establish himself.
Ortiz, 24, and Velazquez, 46, are also graduates of the school, as is Ortiz’s 25-year-old brother Irad Ortiz Jr. In their short careers, the Ortiz brothers have collectively earned more than $200 million in purses, while John Velazquez is the all-time leading money-earning jockey in North America with more than $386 million.
After riding for years at tracks across the United States, Hernandez won the Plate in 2015 on Shaman Ghost and the next year decided to make the move to ride at Woodbine full-time. As a testament to his popularity, Hernandez has been named to ride in every one of Saturday’s 13 races, including three graded stakes.
If Hernandez is going to win the Plate again, Say the Word will to have to best a big field of 16 talented horses. Motion feels the gelding is rounding into form at just the right time. His confidence was boosted when Hernandez told him he “really wanted to ride” Say the Word in the Plate after a solid thirdplace finish against older horses last month.
That’s a big endorsement from Woodbine’s leading rider.
“Last race was a bit short. He was running at the end and had a great, great gallop out,” said Hernandez, who is undeterred by the long odds. “The Queen’s Plate is a tough race. Everybody’s got a chance to win. You need luck and a good trip.”