Since the beginning of this decade, there have been 13 instances in which jockeys have won five or more Thoroughbred races at Del Mar, Los Alamitos, or Santa Anita. Juan Hernandez has accounted for four of those milestones, including a five-win day at Santa Anita on Thursday. Hernandez, 32, won the third race before prevailing in four consecutive races from the fifth through eighth. He previously had a five-win day at Del Mar on Dec. 1 and rode five winners at Santa Anita on Jan. 4. “You always want to win every race,” Hernandez said on Friday morning. “It’s really hard sometimes.” Hernandez also won five races in a day at Santa Anita in May 2022. Earlier in his career, Hernandez had five-win days at Golden Gate Fields in 2018 and 2019. :: Playing Santa Anita? Get the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. The five-win day on Thursday left Hernandez in second place in the jockey standings with 21 wins, one less than leader Flavien Prat, who did not ride at Santa Anita on Thursday. Instead, Prat traveled to Florida, where he was honored with the Eclipse Award on Thursday evening as the outstanding jockey of 2024. Hernandez was also helped by the absences of fellow top 10 riders Frankie Dettori, Antonio Fresu, Kazushi Kimura, and Umberto Rispoli due to travel, riding at other venues, or injury. Edwin Maldonado, another top 10 rider, did not have any mounts on Thursday. “We still have some good riders, and that does not make the job easy,” Hernandez said. On Thursday, Hernandez rode Malibu Rocks to a win in the third race, replacing Kimura, who is sidelined with a leg injury. Hernandez was absent from Santa Anita on Friday while traveling to Oaklawn Park, where he is booked to ride seven races on Saturday, including the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes aboard Gaming. Hernandez will return Sunday to Santa Anita, where he is booked on five mounts. Gaming, trained by Bob Baffert, won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in September and was later second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar in November and third in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December. Hernandez rode Gaming to a win in a maiden race in the colt’s debut at Del Mar last August but has not been aboard since. “He’s already run with the best 2-year-olds,” Hernandez said. “He’s been training good. Hopefully we can get a good result.” Hernandez has been the dominant rider at Del Mar and Santa Anita since Prat adjusted his annual schedule in the spring of 2022 to spend much of the year in Kentucky and New York. Hernandez has no plans to duplicate Prat’s itinerary in the short-term, even though prize money levels in Kentucky and New York are far above those in Southern California. “I’m going to stay here,” he said. “My wife and my family are here and they’re happy. I have a family to support and I have a house to pay for.” In a few years, Hernandez said his outlook could change. “I want to try to ride in Kentucky and New York,” he said. “I love racing. In the future, I want to have more racing [opportunities] and more money.” The Southwest Stakes has a purse of $1 million and is a prep race for the Arkansas Derby on March 29 and the Triple Crown later in the spring. Hernandez has never ridden in a Triple Crown race, which is a goal for this year. “That’s why I’m traveling and following the good horses,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.