Hernandez takes free ride long way

Joe Hernandez started young. His dad introduced him to playing horses when he was just nine years old. “He also taught me craps, blackjack, roulette, and poker at that time,” he said, “which made my math skills the best in the entire fourth grade.”

He lived and attended college within easy driving distance of the Los Angeles-area tracks, and even spent a year working for trainers Armando Lage and Darrell Vienna. “I learned more on the backside about the dayto-day operation, which truly gave me a greater appreciation for the horses and the people who take care of them,” he said.

These days, Hernandez, now 52, still lives out west, where he works as a civil engineer. “Working nights on the California freeways can be very dangerous so I spend half the time in my truck listening to horse racing shows on a daily basis while reading the Form in my downtime.”

Hernandez got interested in tournament play via the DRF Players’ Podcast. “I like contests because they continue to teach me how other people play and think. I check out the successful players – the names I see in the top standings on a consistent basis – and check what they are picking. If we have the same horse then I am thinking along the same lines, even if the horse runs out I still believe I am correct.”

He played in a free all-in contest for the World Championship of Handicapping on Dec. 28. Aqueduct canceled that day, and he ended up doing well in the truncated sequence, finishing tied for first out of 1,560 entries. This won him his $11 feeder seat for later in the week.

“Things started off good for me as I hit the first race with a Fawkes firster,” Hernandez explained, but then he missed the next two races before coming up with Quenane. When the bay gelding won and paid $39.80, Hernandez had booked his ticket for the $95 Round 1 qualifier. In that event, he started off well again by hitting the Chad Brown turf horse Dream Awhile, who paid $7.40. “I generally don’t like playing short prices but I remember Jonathon Kinchen saying on the DRF podcast not to lose a contest by 50 cents,” he said.

Hernandez strung together a few more cashes and was sitting pretty halfway through. “The next three races were a nightmare for me,” he said, as he watched several logical price horses he didn’t bet win and the field caught up and passed him. But on the strength of three place horses at Santa Anita in the last three events he snuck up into the prize pool and moved on to the Grade 1.

“The difference between third, my final placing, and eighth, the final spot in the money, was $8.60, and the difference between me and not cashing was $13.60,” he explained. “All the place prices and low prices count, especially in the later contests with a lower number of contestants.”

Then it was on to the main event: a $580 entry and the chance to play for huge money. “My wife kept asking me when this would end. She just wants to see the money,” he joked.

Hernandez got his PPs early and spent the day handicapping. He felt prepared, but then realized that this tournament used a live format, where picks could be changed, unlike the previous rounds, which were all-in. “This meant there were more factors involved and I was going to have to use my brain throughout the day, not just during the handicapping,” he said.

Unfortunately, Hernandez was off his game, and throughout the course of the 12-race contest he watched several of his second choices win, checking in 14th of 27 in the end and missing the prize pool. Still, it was a great run that started with a free roll and left him just short of competing for his share of $1 million at the WCH.

“It was still a great experience,” he said. “I enjoyed four incredible days and the anticipation or dream of shooting for a chance at really big money.”

You can look forward to seeing Joe Hernandez’s name on WCH qualifier leader boards going forward. “I like the idea and challenge of trying to come from the feeders to the big money,” he said. “I have seen many of my dad’s friends lose way too much from gambling so I always believe in low risk and big rewards. To me, that is the challenge.”