The odds are not in their favor. The memory of Embajador loosing his last three races lingers through Abel Hernandez' mind like a bad omen as he trots the horse to the starting gates. Hernandez can feel the horse growing nervous. He leans forward and strokes the horse's face, gently whispering encouragement into his ear. Today is different. Today, Embajador will win.

Abel Hernandez, horse trainer and jockey, smiles after winning a race aboard racehorse Embajador at The Delta Lake Training Center in Edcouch, Tx.

Hernandez abaord Embajador, right, races Nublado down the quartermile track a the Delta Lake Training Center in Edcouch, Tx. In a previous race, Embajador lost to Nublado, but his first race with Hernandez onboard, Embajador won.

Hernandez taught himself to race six months ago, after years of assisting jockys who raced the horses that he invested his time in. His competitors have more experience, but Hernandez believes his close relationship with his horses gives him the upper hand. The twenty two-year-old horse trainer transformed the stable's storage room into a bedroom four months ago, after two years of living in a nearby house at La Lomita Stables in Brownsville's Southmost neighborhood. Now a loud thud knocks against his wooden bedroom wall, a sort of built in clock, awakening him at 5:30 a.m. when the horses are hungry. Heavy hooves echo about the stable as he slips on jeans, a t-shirt and boots - kept an arms lengh away. The night is still thick, much like the heat.

Hernandez brushes racehorse Northern Victory at 8 in the morning, as he does all eight horses he cares for at La Lomita Stables in Brownsville, Tx. He has been training racehorses for three years and recently became a jockey. Hernandez' mild voice and gentle manner won the love of the horses at La Lomita Stables two years ago. "When I arrived, the horses didn't trust me. Now I know their personalities...and they know me," Hernandez said. One horse nibbles on his shirt with its big soft lips as Hernandez lifts its hoove to scrape the caked earth from its shoes. "Every horse has their way, so you have to treat them differently," Hernandez said. In eight more hours, every horse will be brushed, washed, walked, fed medicine, and made a clean stall with fresh food and water. Horse by horse, Hernandez attends to their every need.

Hernandez never knows how long he will train a horse that comes to the stables, as their owners buy and sell them without notice. But, he knows he needs at least one month to strike a rapport with a horse.

Blackie, one of Hernandez' dogs, scratches its face after waking up from an afternoon nap while Hernandez cleans the horse stalls.

It is 8 p.m. when Hernandez retires to his stable room, grabs a cold beer from the minifridge and turns on a Spanish novela. Dust and sweat cling to his clothes and skin. Sometimes he showers with the water hose. Sometimes he's too tired. The oscillating fan blows a mosquito from his 105 pound frame.

Hernandez admits he has no particular plans for the future, except to earn the reputation as one of the best jockys at the Delta Lake Training Center in Edcouch, Tx. Hernandez relaxes in his bedroom at the end of a day's work. Hernandez recently converted the stable's storage room into living quarters.

Julian Pizana, the 5-year-old son of racehorse Embajador's owner, wants to be just like Hernandez. Julian spends entire days with him, following Hernandez around, asking lots of questions. "He wants to do what I do, but he's too small. Maybe when he's older," Hernandez said. Julian may not realize that he is pursuing the path of a special breed of jocky. Few share a home with their horses, feeling and smelling the same air that drifts through the stable at night. Perhaps through little 5-year-old Julian, Hernadez's secret to success will live on. Julian Pizana, 5, the son of racehorse Embajador's owner, walks with Hernandez after the race at the Delta Lake Training Center in Edcouch, Tx. Pizana wants to be a jockey like Hernandez.

Select photographs and an edited version of this story was published 01 September 2000 in The Brownsville Herald.