Brian Hernandez Jr.


Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. is an American Eclipse Award-winning jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.

Career

He began riding professionally in 2003 and achieved his first win on November 29, 2003 at Louisiana's Delta Downs. As of May 2024, he has over 2,500 victories. In 2004, Hernandez won 243 races and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. In 2009, he rode Rachel Alexandra to two wins in her first five starts. On August 18, 2012, he won the 1,000th race of his career at Ellis Park Race Course and on November 3, 2012, his 27th birthday, he won the 2012 [Breeders' Cup Classic|Breeders' Cup Classic] aboard Fort Larned at Santa Anita Park.
In 2024, Hernandez became the ninth jockey in history and the first since Calvin Borel in 2009 to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same year. He won the Oaks aboard Thorpedo Anna then won the Derby the following day on Mystik Dan. Both horses were trained by Ken McPeek.
In an interview, Hernandez Jr. told The Blood-Horse "as a young kid, I'd always ride my bicycle around and tell my mom and dad that I'm going to win the Kentucky Derby".

Year-end charts

Chart Peak
position
National Earnings List for Jockeys 200445
National Earnings List for Jockeys 200595
National Earnings List for Jockeys 200953
National Earnings List for Jockeys 201094
National Earnings List for Jockeys 201220
National Earnings List for Jockeys 201337
National Earnings List for Jockeys 201451
National Earnings List for Jockeys 201532