20 Questions

with Prairie Meadows Racing Analyst, John Hernandez

By Dennis L. Bracewell

Bracewell: You are a seasoned broadcaster having worked decades in radio and in front of the camera, what brought you to Iowa and then eventually to Prairie Meadows?

Hernandez: My wife is from Iowa. My family and I decided to head to the Midwest after my parents died in 2006 and 2008. I am a native Californian, so it was tough to leave, but I realized the opportunities in thoroughbred racing in the state were drying up as the industry contracted, at least on the front side. I contacted Jeff Nelson (Director of Marketing) at Prairie Meadows at the suggestion of Amanda Brink-Hull from KCCI-TV and we eventually crafted the arragement that put me in my current role.

Bracewell: As sports anchor and sports director of KTUU-TV2 in Anchorage, Alaska you hired a young intern named Sarah Heath? Can you explain to our readers about your experience with this young woman and can you let us know what she later did in life?

Hernandez: In late 1987, a young lady by the name of Sarah Heath walked into the studios of KTUU-TV2 and asked if she could be put in touch with the person in charge of sports ... me! I happened to be at the station that afternoon, we talked, and I found her to be very enthusiastic and eager to learn about news and sports reporting. I offered her an uppaid internship, which she accepted, and she worked with me for three months. I actually let her anchor the sportscast on Super Bowl Sunday of 1988. You know her today as Sarah Palin!

Bracewell: You post a lot of political postings on your Facebook page. Can you tell us a little bit about your political affiliation and background?

Hernandez: I graduated from high school in 1972, as the Vietnam War was winding down. I registered as a Democrat the day I turned 18 and voted faithfully (blindly?) for every Democratic presidential ticket from 1972 to 2004. As my life experience brought me to more of a conservative worldview, I became convinced that the Democratic party of today had morphed into a party that no longer reflected my positions. I gave up my affiliation in 2009 and remain unaffiliated to this point.

Bracewell: You worked as a radio results announcer in Southern California covering races at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar. Can you let us know some of the interesting things that happened to you in that position or some of the interesting people you met?

Hernandez: I broke into the thoroughbred racing game in the fall of 1981 at the first Hollywood Park Winter meeting. I was fortunate enough to work in Southern California racing at all three major tracks, Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, and Del Mar. The jockey and trainer ranks were a “who's who” of racing, I watched and worked with the likes of Shoemaker, McCarron, Pincay, Hawley, Whittingham, McAnally, Lukas, and Barrera. I watched great horses like John Henry and the ill-fated filly Landaluce in my early years at the track.

Bracewell: Having worked at multiple tracks across the country can you let us know what you think Prairie Meadows does very well and what they need to work on to become an elite track?

Hernandez: Prairie Meadows has an excellent facility and an excellent spot on the yearly racing calendar. Those two factors are great starting points. I believe most of the owners, trainers, and jockeys who come to Prairie Meadows are very pleased with their experience in the Midwest. It is up to the racing department to aggressively recruit and write the races that will attract bigger and better connections to Prairie Meadows, which should help the track become noticed and respected on the national level.

Bracewell: You were recently hired by the American Quarter Horse Association as a racing analyst/commentator. Do you have much history with quarter horses?

Hernandez: Last year's first stand-alone Quarter Horse meet at Prairie Meadows was my initial “total immersion” into that breed. I actually found those races much easier to handicap than the thoroughbred races, so I did well handicapping here and in my initial assignments for the AQHA. The AQHA also wants to reach out in an increased and better manner to the Spanish-speaking racing fans and my ability to connect with those fans is a key reason the AQHA approached me.

Bracewell: You have been on assignment to several quarter horse tracks including Sunland Park in New Mexico, Will Roger Downs in Oklahoma, Hialeah Park in Florida, and The Fair Grounds in Louisiana. Which of those quarter horse tracks were your favorite to visit and, do you think Hialeah Park has a chance at making it as a quarter horse track?

Hernandez: Hialeah Park is a special place; it's like walking through a museum. There are so many historic photos hanging on the walls from the track's halcyon days as a great thoroughbred track that you can almost feel what it must have been like when Churchill and Jackie O came to the races in South Florida. Hialeah Park has plans to renovate part of the aging facility and build a casino or card room on the grounds. If those plans are fulfilled, the track could be successful as a Quarter Horse track.

Bracewell: You have covered some major events including the Belmont Stakes, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the NHL All-Star Game, and a couple world championship fights. What has been your favorite event to cover as a journalist?

Hernandez: That's a tough one! I would have to say that it was my first world championship boxing match in 1980. I was working in Bakerfield when a local fighter (and fan favorite) –Ruben Castillo– earned a title shot against the legendary featherweight Alexis Arguello. I remember having butterflies in my stomach as the ring announcer introduced the fighters. Ruben fought valiantly against the great Arguello, but Alexis finally knocked him out in the 11th round. Another memorable part of that trip to Tucson, AZ for the fight was meeting the iconoclastic ABC sports announcer Howard Cosell in person!

Bracewell: You are an “on-air” handicapper. Do you ever play your own picks and, if so, what has been your biggest score?

Hernandez: I do play my own picks, but as a self-professed “value bettor,” I am always looking to play my race contenders that go to post at longer odds that they should. Couple of recent examples: Stout Hope (Terry Thompson) was 12-1 and Sir Richey (Larry Hunt's debuting half-brother to Dynamic Within) was 18-1. You cannot let those wagering opportunities pass without playing them. The biggest score(s) of my life were in 1983 when Vic Stauffer (before he became a track announcer) and I had zeroed-in on a sharp working horse trained by John Gosden named Bates Motel. I bet $200 to win on him in the San Antonio Handicap and he won convincingly at 9-2. Six weeks later, I bet another $200 on him in the Santa Anita Handicap. He won again at odds of 7-2.

Bracewell: You went to school at San Diego State University where you received a BA in Journalism. You worked “on air” as a sportscaster for the college radio station. While working there you worked with an interesting character at the college radio station named Ted Giannoulas? Can you tell us any Ted stories and what is Ted best known as?

Hernandez: Ted is best known as “the man in the chicken suit” ... he is The Famous Chicken! He's had a pretty amazing career since he was “plucked” from the studios of our college radio station by a sales executive from KGB-AM in San Diego because, as the exec said to him, “You'll fit the suit, just show up at the station tomorrow morning ... oh, and there's NO SHOT of this EVER leading to anything big!” Ted and I actually played ice hockey together as teenagers at The House Of Ice in La Mesa, CA where we were both goaltenders. I saw Ted a couple of summers ago in San Diego and I see that his “alter ego,” The Famous Chicken, is scheduled for a visit here this year.

Bracewell: Can you let us know what it was like learning to call thoroughbred horse races with the late legend Harry Henson?

Hernandez: Harry Henson was calling the races at Hollywood Park when I was there. He was a great guy to be around, a character, a fan favorite, and someone who went out of his way to help me. He would listen to recordings of my calls and offer good advice on how to improve my race calling. Harry was definitely “old school,” the chart-caller style of a racecaller, and he was always very accurate with names and margins until his eyes started to fail him late in his career.

Bracewell: Did you think that we’d have a Triple Crown winner during any of the Belmont Stakes you covered in 2003, 2004, and 2008? Who did you think had the best shot at winning the Triple Crown of those you covered? Do you think we will ever have another Triple Crown winner?

Hernandez: I was on Long Island watching Smarty Jones turn for home with a big lead down on the rail at Belmont Park in 2004. I thought FOR SURE that I was witnessing the next Triple Crown champ win The Belmont in person ... then came Birdstone! The noise from the stands went from a deafening roar to almost total silence. Watching the next Triple Crown champ win The Belmont in person is still #1 on my “bucket list” of must-see sports events.

Bracewell: What sporting events are missing from your resume and do you think you’ll get a chance to cover any of these events?

Hernandez: I am a huge tennis fan, I love watching Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova play in person, which I've done at Indian Wells in California. With that in mind, I would have to say that “the tennis majors,” especially Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, and the French Open, are the obvious ones. I suppose the U.S. Open, in New York, offers the best opportunity, although I will probably go as a fan and not as a reporter.

Bracewell: There were some very nice Iowa-bred quarter horses racing in Graded Stakes races around the country last year. Do you feel we will have an Iowa-bred thoroughbred racing in Graded Stakes races within the next few years?

Hernandez: You're right about the Iowa-bred Quarter Horse stakes runners! And there's also a national champion owned by Iowa connections, the top aged mare Spit Curl Diva owned by Tom Lepic, who also runs a few thoroughbreds here at Prairie Meadows. Only time will tell on whether an Iowa-bred runner will compete in graded thoroughbred races soon, but it appears the outlook for the long-term viability and success of the Iowa breeding program is excellent.

Bracewell: What sort of hobbies do you have outside of horse racing and broadcasting?

Hernandez: I play tennis as much as I can, so I am glad that the weather finally allows me to play outside! I am a big fan of the great singer/songwriter John Prine. I have seen him play 12 times in cities ranging from Anchorage, AK to Honolulu, HI. I have visited with John in person a few times and I am friends with his guitarist Jason Wilber.

Bracewell: How has social media affected the reporting of sports and/or horse racing?

Hernandez: It's certainly enabled the 24/7/365 sharing of information and opinions ... and if nothing else, racing is certainly a sport of information and opinions! As we witness the decline of daily newpapers and a serious drop-off in the amount of coverage given to horse racing on a regular basis, it's almost paramount for any fan or bettor to be invloved online and with social media.

Bracewell: You know multiple languages including English, Spanish and Russian. Are you fluent in all three? How and why did you learn Russian?

Hernandez: I am “fairly fluent” in both English and Spanish, not so with Russian, where I know enough to get invloved in basic conversations, but not enough to continue when the discussion gets more involved. I learned Russian as a part of my involvement in nine short-term ministry projects to Russia. I've been to Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral, ridden The Metro, and flown on Aeroflot!

Bracewell: Of all of the places you’ve been throughout the world, how do you rate the people and hospitality of Iowa? How do you compare/rate Prairie Meadows to other tracks you have visited and worked at?

Hernandez: Hospitality and friendliness are certainly two of the characteristics that make Iowa a very comfortable place to live as compared to some of the larger and busier cities I have visited around the globe. Prairie Meadows is a very “fan friendly” race track. It's so easy to go from the paddock/walking ring before the race, over to the mutuel windows, and on down to the finish line to watch every race. You can really get much more “up close and personal” with the jockeys and trainers at Prairie Meadows that you can at most tracks.

Bracewell: What is your favorite horse racing movie?

Hernandez: Let It Ride, the 1989 comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss, which –interestingly enough– was filmed mainly at Hialeah Park.

Thank you for your time, John! I’ll see you at the races!