Walter Wlodarczyk Photo

Brian Hernandez Jr. wins 2024 Mike Venezia Memorial Award

by Pat McKenna, Mark Bardack

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that veteran jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. has been selected as the 2024 Mike Venezia Memorial Award recipient.

Hernandez Jr., the winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby aboard Mystik Dan, was chosen by a committee comprised of members of the Venezia family, representatives of The Jockeys’ Guild and retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Richard Migliore. Hernandez Jr. will be recognized at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, August 23.

“As a rider, I try to win races on the track and represent the sport as best I can off the track,” said Hernandez Jr. “To be recognized with the Venezia Memorial Award is an honor. My family and I look forward to celebrating this award and thanking the Venezia family here at Saratoga Race Course.”

The Mike Venezia Memorial Award is presented annually to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career.

“From the outset of his career, Brian has been a true representative for horse racing and a professional in every way,” said Terry Meyocks, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jockeys’ Guild. “As the winner of the Venezia Award, he joins a group of elite riders who have distinguished themselves as role models and pillars of the racing community. We thank NYRA for continuing this tradition, and congratulate Brian on his accomplishments.”

Hernandez Jr.’s triumph in this year’s Kentucky Derby took place the day after his commanding wire-to-wire win aboard Thorpedo Anna in the 150th Kentucky Oaks, making him one of only eight riders to capture those races in the same year and the first in 15 years. Since then, the 38-year-old rider has won two other Grade 1 races at Saratoga Race Course aboard Thorpedo Anna – the DK Horse Acorn on June 7 at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 20.

Hernandez Jr. is a native of Lafayette, LA and hails from a racing family. His father, Brian Hernandez Sr., is a former jockey and his brother Colby and sister Courtney are Louisiana-based jockeys. He rode his first winner in 2003 at Louisiana’s Delta Downs. In 2004, Hernandez Jr. was honored with the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey and in the years since has built a career at the pinnacle of the sport.

In 2012, Hernandez Jr. secured his first Grade 1 win by guiding Fort Larned to victory in the Spa’s prestigious Whitney. That same year, he won the 1,000th race of his career at Ellis Park Race Course and completed a remarkable season, on his 27th birthday, by capturing the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Fort Larned at Santa Anita Park. He notched his 2,000th win in 2019 at Fair Grounds Race Course. For his career, Hernandez Jr. has more than 2,580 wins and purse earnings in excess of $134.2 million.

For Migliore, the 2003 Venezia Memorial Award winner and now an analyst with NYRA TV, the award is a reminder of Venezia’s enduring legacy.

“I took so many lessons from Mike Venezia both in how to ride to the best of my ability and in how to carry myself as a professional,” said Migliore. “I congratulate Brian on this richly deserved honor. He is becoming part of a special group of riders.”

The Venezia Memorial Award is a 13-inch bronze sculpture with a title that reads, “The Jockey, A Champion.” Hernandez Jr. joins a legendary group of riders who have won the award previously, led by Venezia, who posthumously earned the inaugural award in 1989.

Other winners include Bill Shoemaker, Chris McCarron, Angel Cordero Jr., Jerry Bailey, Mike Smith, Pat Day, Laffit Pincay Jr., Robbie Davis, Eddie Maple, Gary Stevens, Jorge Chavez, Mike Luzzi, Dean Kutz, Richard Migliore, Patti Cooksey, Edgar Prado, Ramon Dominguez, John Velazquez, Jon Court, Mario Pino, Kendrick Carmouche, Joe Bravo, Javier Castellano, DeShawn Parker, Julien Leparoux and the 2023 winner Junior Alvarado.

The 2024 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course continues through Monday, September 2. For additional information, visit NYRA.com.