Benji Hernandez
 

By most accounts he’s a really nice kid. Being a jockey is a hard job but he nearly fell off a horse a few weeks back and just fell off a horse as it was crossing the wire in the 1st today. Coming out of the gate he wiped the 2 and 3 out.

For safety sake I feel like something needs to be done. He’s a danger to not only himself right now but other riders and horses.

NYRA has installed those pedal clips that cyclists wear onto his stirrups.

From falling off a horse for no reason to winning two on a Saturday at Saratoga.

Quite a game.

He's a cheery, wide-eyed kid. Has ridden Minit Maus for us to 2 of her best efforts.

All true....also all completely irrelevant. He almost fell off a horse at the sixteenth pole last week, costing the horse third for sure and maybe second. He actually fell off at the wire the other day fortunately avoiding a very unpleasant situation. Two or three races later he dangerously cut off a few runners making the lead from the outside. You're right, he's a really nice kid, and has a very positive attitude, but that doesn't change some pretty simple facts.

As Ricardo Santana asks, "Have you ever ridden a horse?"

Shouldn't you be in a production meeting?

Or taking your mother to breakfast?

Or looking at replays for Thursday's card?