BALTIMORE – Kenny McPeek acknowledged that in his younger days as a trainer, he would get enamored chasing the big-name jockeys such as Pat Day or Jerry Bailey to ride for him. As time went on, McPeek’s philosophy changed. He wanted a rider that would put in the necessary time at the barn in the mornings, presumably to be better prepared for the afternoons. “I want somebody that’s part of the team. I don’t want a rider that comes in, gets on a horse, and then jumps off the next race, they don’t want to ride mine because they got one they think is a half-length faster,” McPeek said. “There’s a loyalty there . . . it’s a marriage, you give loyalty you get loyalty.” Over the last seven years, McPeek has found a loyal soldier in Brian Hernandez Jr. On the first weekend in May, that loyalty was rewarded when Hernandez rode Mystik Dan to victory in the Kentucky Derby the day after he rode Thorpedo Anna to victory for McPeek in the Kentucky Oaks. It was the first time in 72 years that the same jockey-trainer tandem won both races in the same year. For Hernandez, 38, the rare Oaks-Derby double was a signature weekend in a career that has been somewhat underrated despite him recording more than 2,500 wins and earning an Eclipse Award as North America’s top apprentice rider in 2004. :: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, and more Hernandez has won 233 races for McPeek, the vast majority coming since 2017 when he became more of a presence in the barn. A lot of successful jockeys have aligned themselves with big barns over time, perhaps none more successful than the John Velazquez-Todd Pletcher relationship that has produced 1,867 victories over more than a quarter-century. Hernandez credits his agent, Frank Bernis, with helping to foster his relationship with McPeek. With a lot more big-name riders and trainers based in Kentucky for the lucrative purse money offered, having a top barn behind you is essential. “Especially nowadays, the way racing’s gone the last few years with megastables,” Hernandez said. “It always helps a lot when you have one of those.” Bernis and Hernandez began working together in the spring of 2012. That fall, Hernandez won the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Fort Larned for trainer Ian Wilkes. “Before Fort Larned came around we were struggling and just getting by,” Hernandez said. “That was the first year Frank and I worked together and to pop up with Fort Larned everything skyrocketed from there.” Wilkes said Hernandez always had the talent, he just needed the opportunity. “He doesn’t make many mistakes,” Wilkes said. Hernandez isn’t the only Grade 1-winning rider McPeek entrusts when it comes to Mystik Dan. Robby Albarado, who won the 2020 Preakness aboard Swiss Skydiver for McPeek, has been a key part of Mystik Dan’s development. Albarado retired from riding in 2021, but he’s continued to assist McPeek in developing his young horses. Albarado got on Mystik Dan before he started as a 2-year-old and then again when McPeek shipped the horse to Oaklawn Park during the winter for stakes races there. Albarado has accompanied Mystik Dan to Baltimore and is his exercise rider this week. Albarado, who actually rode with Hernandez’s father, said the son is a student of the game and put up a “Hall of Fame ride” on Mystik Dan in the Derby, going through a narrow opening both into the first turn and coming into the stretch for the second time. “He had a plan, he had audibles, but the plan was to ride him like he did,” Albarado said. “I feel like any other ride, he wouldn’t have won the Derby.” Hernandez said he and McPeek formulated a plan on how to ride Mystik Dan after the horse drew post 3. Hernandez, having watched Calvin Borel win a few Kentucky Derbies by riding the rail, wanted to do something similar. Hernandez slipped up on the inside of West Saratoga going into the first turn and made his own room when he came up the inside of Track Phantom approaching the quarter pole. Hernandez said the way Mystik Dan went through the inside going into the first turn gave him the confidence to do it again turning for home. “Going through that spot, that was more of having the horse under me to do it,” Hernandez said. “I knew what kind of horse Mystik Dan was, and being able to trust him, that if we get any kind of room at any point in the race we’re going to be in good shape.” :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies for exclusive wagering insights, contender analysis, and more Hernandez was 22 years old when he got on his first horse of a lifetime. It was June 13, 2008, when Hernandez guided the then relatively unknown 2-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra to a 1 1/4-length victory in her second start. By that fall, when Rachel Alexandra had her coming-out party in the Golden Rod Stakes, Hernandez had already moved his tack to Fair Grounds for the winter. Borel picked up the mount on Rachel Alexandra for the Golden Rod, the first of what became nine consecutive victories, including one in the 2009 Preakness. “You always look back on horses that got away, but you can’t dwell on the past,” Hernandez said. “You move forward and see if you can find another one. We’re proud of the career we’ve had, at the same time I’m only 38, I have quite a few years left hopefully with more big ones coming.” Perhaps as early as Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.