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Rafael Hernandez, a former Canadian champion jockey, reached his 3,000th career win Friday when Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry’s homebred Bill Needle scored in the fourth race at Woodbine.
Hernandez urged the 4-year-old Distorted Humor gelding to lead nearing the final furlong and he kicked clear to win the 1 1/16-mile maiden optional claiming event by 2 1/2 lengths, providing his rider the milestone.
A Woodbine mainstay for the past several years, Hernandez currently ranks second by wins and purse earnings among riders at the Toronto-area racetrack, with 35 victories and $1,543,421 in earnings through Friday.
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He has tallied more than 140 stakes wins during his career and won Canada’s Sovereign Award as Outstanding Jockey in 2020. Overall, Hernandez’ 15,756 career mounts have banked more than $62 million in purses.
Hernandez enjoyed a highly successful year in 2022, winning 135 races, including 17 stakes, with notable victories including the Fury Stakes, Woodbine Oaks, and Queen’s Plate (G1) with Moira, who was named 2022 Canada’s Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly; Grade 2 Nassau with Crystal Cliffs (dead heat with Lady Speightspeare); Grade 2 Royal North with Boardroom; Grade 2 Dance Smartly with Wakanaka; and Grade 3 Mazarine with Renegade Rebel. His mounts bankrolled purse earnings of more than $6 million.
A native of Puerto Rico, where he attended jockey school for two years, Hernandez started his riding career at Fairmount Park near St. Louis in 2004 and won the riding title there in 2005, and proceeded to win it eight out of nine years. Career highlights include winning seven races on Fairmount’s eight-race card on May 20, 2014.
Hernandez relocated to Gulfstream Park during the mid-2010s, and following a stint on the sidelines in 2016 to recover from injuries sustained in a three-horse spill at Gulfstream, he shifted his tack to Woodbine, where he has reigned among the leading riders.
