Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.

Brian Hernandez Jr., a Louisiana native, won the 2004 Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey, and guided Fort Larned to a win in the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Hernandez set a career high with 243 victories in 2004 and set a new career best for purse earnings with $8,034,048 in 2012.

In early 2017, Hernandez was employed by the connections of two talented 30-year-olds – McCraken and Girvin – to ride in the Road to the Kentucky Derby prep series of races. After riding McCraken to stakes wins in the fall of 2016, he piloted the colt to an authoritative win in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 11, 2017.

Two weeks later, Hernandez was aboard Girvin for his breakthrough win in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. He returned to guide Girvin to the winner’s circle in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby on April 1.

Hernandez's top horses during 2018-19 included 2018 Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades winner Restless Rider and 2019 Grade 3 Locust Grove Stakes winner Go Google Yourself. He continued to rank among the top riders at Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds, and Keeneland into the early 2020s, riding such notable horses as Grade 1 winner Rattle N Roll, Grade 2 winner Art Collector, and multiple graded stakes winner Tiz the Bomb. Hernandez teamed with trainer Kenny McPeek to win the Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland Stakes in 2023 with Defining Purpose.

In 2024, Hernandez and McPeek continued to pair well together, winning the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes with Mystik Dan and the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes with Thorpedo Anna, both at Oaklawn Park. Hernandez then added a marquee victory to his resume with a picture-perfect ride on Thorpedo Anna in the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks May 3 at Churchill Downs. Hernandez and Thorpedo Anna enjoyed a ground-saving, pacesetting trip and powered well clear in the stretch to a runaway victory in 1:50.83 for 1 1/8 miles on a sloppy track.