JOCKEY HARRY HERNANDEZ RECORDS HIS 1,000TH NORTH AMERICAN WIN IN FIRST RACE FRIDAY AT REMINGTON PARK

Jockey Harry Hernandez was pretty excited about getting his 1,000th North American victory in Remington Park’s first race aboard R Doc on Friday night, but there was one person who was even more animated about the milestone.

“My dad (Andy Hernandez, a jockey in Puerto Rico), he’s the one who has been counting it down for me,” said Harry after the victory. “He was like, ‘you have five more! You have three more!’ I said, ‘Oh yeah, because I had lost count. He texted me today before the races and said, ‘You’re going to do it today, so I’ll be watching.’ “

The race set up perfectly for Hernandez and R Doc. They sat alone in third in the one-mile race over the fast main track as Prince Rama (5-1) and Absaroka (5-1) battled in a speed duel. They were setting fractions as a pair in the early going of :24.02 for the first quarter-mile, :47.74 for the half-mile. R Doc had taken over by time three-quarters of a mile and he hit the cruise control from there, marking the six-furlongs time in 1:12.78, the seven-eighths in 1:25.67 and with every stride, widening the margin to make it an easy 1,000th win.

R Doc hit the finish, 5-1/4 lengths in front as the 7-2 second wagering favorite. Hernandez was riding for trainer Jory Ferrell, who had claimed the horse for himself and his co-owners Jim Shepherd and Toby Ferrell for the price of $5,000 in his last race. In fact, R Doc has been one of the most popular horses of the meet at the claiming box as he had been taken for a price in his last three starts before Friday, all of those victories for the horse. He has now won four in a row at Remington Park this meet.

The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Gio Ponti, out of the Street Sense mare Pedestrian, has been anything but pedestrian, with no one able to catch him once he gets to the lead in a race here. Hernandez must have been thrilled to see R Doc as the horse he could count on. It had not been an easy road for the young jockey chasing 1,000 wins. He was stuck on win number 994 from Oct. 12 when he got that win until Oct. 23 when 995 came aboard Northvale Road.

“It’s part of the game,” said Hernandez. “It’s like a roller coaster. We go up and down. You have to keep your mind positive and keep working. Then just wait for those wins. They’re going to come.”

Hernandez is only 28 years old and has many years of riding ahead of him. He started racing in the United States after leaving his native Puerto Rico in 2015.

“When I first started riding, I wanted to accomplish a lot of things. A thousand wins was definitely one of them. At one time in my career, I kind of stopped, hit a slow spot, so I didn’t really expect to do it this quick. When you work and want to do something and you put everything in God’s hands, if you’re patient, you’ll get it.”
Hernandez, has come a long to winning with R Doc for that 1,000th from being allergic to horses until he was 12 years old, when the allergies miraculously disappeared.

“I asked my dad when I was about 8 years old, ‘How am I going to ride horses? And he would just say, ‘Don’t worry, it will go away. It’s not like a seafood thing.’”

His milestone victory wasn’t the only thing Hernandez celebrated Friday night. Prior to the races, there was a baby shower held on the first floor at Remington Park where he and his significant other, Kayla, with their 1-year-old baby boy Hayden, were the recipients of all kinds of gifts at a baby shower. Kayla is due with the couple’s second child in December.

Hernandez book-ended the evening of racing Friday night by getting his 1,001st win aboard heavy favorite Lady Jae on the grass against $20,000 claimers in the final race of the night. The 6-year-old mare, at 4-5 odds, won for the ninth time in her career from 39 starts for owner Melvin Simonovich of Pleasant Prairie, Wisc. Abel Ramirez-Rodriguez got the training win.

Hernandez is in a tie for third after Friday’s races as he and David Cabrera have 34 trips to the winner’s circle each, behind only Stewart Elliott’s 62, and Floyd Wethey, Jr.’s 38.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday with a first post time of 6:30 p.m.

Remington Park has provided more than $363 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 2024 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 13 when the $300,000 Springboard Mile tops the final night of the season. The major 2-year-old stakes race of the season, the Springboard awards valuable 2025 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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