Brian Hernandez Jr. had a weekend most jockeys can only dream about as he won both the May 3 Longines Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna and the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve with Mystik Dan  at Churchill Downs.

It’s a dream come true for the 38-year-old rider from Lafayette, La. When he was a kid, he would tell anyone who would listen that he would one day win the Kentucky Derby. He came through on his promise with a gutsy, rail-skimming move that helped put Mystik Dan far enough ahead in the stretch to hold off rallies from runner-up Sierra Leone and third-place finisher Forever Young.

Hernandez spoke with BloodHorse about winning the Kentucky Derby, how his career has unfolded, and more.

BloodHorse: What did it feel like when you crossed the finish line in the Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan?

Hernandez and Mystik Dan, inside, hang on to win Kentucky Derby. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Brian Hernandez Jr.: You were like, I am either going to be a hero or a zero. You either just won the Kentucky Derby or you got beat a nose. I wasn’t sure if we won, so we galloped out to [outrider] Greg [Blasi]. The jocks behind me kept congratulating me and I’m looking around like ‘Did I win?’ I kept asking Greg, ‘Greg, did we win?’ Finally, after about 30 or 40 seconds, he goes, ‘The stewards are saying you won, but they haven’t hung up the number yet.’ For the next couple of minutes, we just had to wait it out until they finally hung up our number. Once they finally did, it was like a whole fulfillment of joy.

BloodHorse: At what point in the stretch did you realize Sierra Leone and Forever Young were coming after you?

Hernandez: When we straightened for home and I called on him and he sprinted away, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we’re about to win the Kentucky Derby.’ He was just running so hard that I was never worried about anybody running him down. But then right as we got to the wire, those horses surged so fast. That was the only point I was worried that we might have got beat. But other than that, I thought he was a winner the whole way.

BloodHorse: Once you officially got word that you had won, explain the excitement that ran through you in that moment.

Winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrates Mystik Dan’s victory. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Hernandez: It’s just a surreal moment. I’ve heard guys before say that as they’re winning the Kentucky Derby their whole career flashes before their eyes. That didn’t happen to me. I think it was more of ‘I can’t believe this just happened.’ I was more proud of the horse more than anything. I was happy for him and it was a great moment for him to go out there and win the biggest race in the world.

BloodHorse: When you see them bringing the garland of roses over, what was that moment like?

Hernandez: That’s when it started to sink in. The biggest moment was when we were walking up the Derby steps [at the winner’s circle pagoda]. I’ve been around here at Churchill for the last 20 years and I’ve always told myself that I’m never going into that Derby winner’s circle until I can go there as a Kentucky Derby winner. As we were walking up the Derby steps, I had to stop for a second and my wife, Jamie, came over. She goes, ‘Are you OK? Are you going to pass out?’ I’m like, ‘No, just give me a moment. I need a moment to soak this in.’ This is surreal. I need to pinch myself to say, ‘Hey, we’re walking up the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle steps.’ It was crazy.

BloodHorse: Where did the passion for horses come from?

Hernandez: My dad. My dad [Brian Sr.] rode for 20 years. Myself and my little brother Colby — who helped us out here in the mornings quite a bit. He worked in company with us on both [Thorpedo Anna] and [Mystik Dan] the last few works. So we got to thank him a lot.

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It was just growing up around horses. We grew up on a little farm down there in Louisiana and we’ve always had horses in the backyard, started galloping horses early on. And it’s just something that we’ve grown up into.

BloodHorse: Could you ever have imagined back then that you would end up here?

Hernandez: No, but as a young kid, I’d always ride my bicycle around and tell my mom and dad that I’m going to win the Kentucky Derby. And to finally do it — I got up this morning and I told my wife, ‘We didn’t win the Kentucky Derby, that didn’t happen.’ It’s just unbelievable.

BloodHorse: When you were riding that bike as a kid, were you imagining coming down to the wire in the Kentucky Derby?

Hernandez: Yeah! We used to have dad’s jock pants on and I put the white underwear on top, because they were too big, into silks and ride around telling everybody that I’m going to win the Kentucky Derby. So to actually do it, it’s crazy.

BloodHorse: What led to your decision to start riding at Churchill Downs regularly, and why have you stuck around for 20 years?

Hernandez: When I had the bug down there at Delta Downs, I was riding night cards and going to high school. Shane Sellers was over at the Fair Grounds riding and he’d come in on Saturdays to ride stakes. He told me early on ‘Hey, when you graduate high school, I have an agent for you here in Kentucky. We’re going to have you all set up.’ So, he had me set up with his agent at the time, which was Fred Aime, a legendary jockey agent here in Kentucky. Shane took care of me … him and Freddie. I was an 18-year-old kid. I graduated high school [in Louisiana] and moved [to Kentucky].

BloodHorse: What was that adjustment like moving to ride in Kentucky at such a young age?

Hernandez: There were some tough times. There was a couple times where we were going to pack it in and move back home to Louisiana. I won the Eclipse Award [for outstanding apprentice jockey in 2004] with the bug and struggled for a few years after that. We just kind of worked our way through and got lucky. I ended up picking up [jockey agent] Frank Bernis 12 years ago and the very first year I had him we got lucky and started working with Ian Wilkes and won the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year [with Fort Larned].

Hernandez win the 2012 Classic on Fort Larned. (Eclipse Sportswire)

BloodHorse: Would you consider Fort Larned a turning point in your career?

Hernandez: Fort Larned was definitely a turning point in my career because that summer before Fort Larned, my wife and I were just getting married. We were actually packing up and I was going to Arlington Park for the summer because we didn’t have much business here in Kentucky.

We got lucky. The fall before that, I rode Fort Larned in [an allowance race at Churchill Downs]. The next summer, Ian was running him in the [Prairie Meadows] Cornhusker [Handicap] and he needed a jock. I got lucky and picked him up there in the Cornhusker and won. Thank God for Mrs. [Janis] Whitham because without her, I might be back shoveling stalls in Lafayette, La., because they entrusted an average jockey to go up to Saratoga and ride [Fort Larned] in the Grade 1 Whitney. From there, Fort Larned took us to new heights from winning the Whitney to winning a Breeders’ Cup Classic at 27 years old. It was a magical moment. From there, [business] picked up. In the last few years, we’ve hooked up with Kenny [McPeek] and he provided us with some really good horses.

BloodHorse: You’re only the eighth jockey to win both the Oaks and the Derby on the same weekend. How does that feel, and does the fact it was the 150th edition of each make it a little extra special?

Hernandez: Yeah, it makes it really, really special. It’s just an unbelievable accomplishment because we came into the weekend thinking we had some pretty good chances. Our horses were doing unbelievably well, but at the same time, everybody’s horses are doing well. Everybody shoots for this weekend. When Thorpedo Anna went out there and did what she did. She just dominated to win by four [lengths]. It was an unbelievable feeling.

Going into [Derby], we had the Oaks under our wing. There was no pressure, and that was the weird thing. I talked to Kenny about it [Derby] night. We felt no pressure. We went into the race a little confident knowing that our horse is a good horse. All we have to do is not mess it up. That was the biggest thing. Don’t get in his way, don’t give him an excuse to lose. We got the trip. It was exactly how we thought it would play out. And then when I called on Mystik Dan, he was there for us and we won the Kentucky Derby.

BloodHorse: Your rail-skimming ride took a little inspiration from three-time Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel, didn’t it?

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Hernandez: I grew up here in Kentucky watching Calvin ride these Derbys and watching him ride the rail all those years. I watched Mine That Bird’s [2009] Derby [ahead of the 2024 Derby] and it was unbelievable. He was so far back. I was like, ‘I can’t give Mystik Dan that trip.’ Then I went back and watched his Super Saver Derby [Derby ride in 2010] and he rode that horse out of the four hole like you wouldn’t believe. It was kind of the same trip we had, so that was what I wanted to mimic.

BloodHorse: What was your night like after winning the Derby?

Hernandez: It was surreal. We did all the media stuff and then we went to the Derby Museum for the toasts and then went upstairs and got cleaned up. We ended up at Jeff Ruby’s ’till like 12:30. We finally made it to bed at 3 and got up at 5:30.

BloodHorse: You mentioned that you were at the Kentucky Derby Museum. What is it going to be like watching yourself at the end of the movie “The Greatest Race”?

Hernandez: [Derby night] we were standing there and they started to play it. Kenny looked over and goes, ‘We’re not in it yet, let’s get out of here.’ So,. we left a little early. But I told him we’re going to be back when we’re in this thing. I might walk in there every day before the races just to go see it. It’s going to be a surreal moment to say we were part of Kentucky Derby history.