Here is all you need to know about Brian “BJ” Hernandez Jr including his height and bio
Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr won the 2024 Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan trained by Kenneth McPeek.
Mystik Dan’s trainer, Ken McPeek, makes history by being the first trainer to win the Oaks and Derby in the same year since 1952.
Who is jockey Brian ‘BJ’ Hernandez Jr, bio, age, height, family, parents, wife and career earnings
Bath time for your 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan! 🫧 pic.twitter.com/z8dzpe63DP
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 5, 2024
Who is Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr?
Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr is a joceky born on November 3, 1985, in Lafayette, Louisiana. On November 29, 2003, in Louisiana’s Delta Downs, he won his first race as a professional in 2003.
His height stands at 5 feet 11 inches and he weighs 86 kg.
The American Eclipse Award-winning jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing rode his first winning horse at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana, in 2003. Three years later, in the 2006 Indiana Derby (G2), the rookie jockey rode Cielo Gold to victory, marking the first of his 51 career graded stakes wins.
Brian got exposed to riding ever since he was born. In southern Louisiana, racing has traditionally been a family affair. But the Hernandez family, who ride, has taken it to a whole new level. He was born into a family of riders. His father and brothers all are riders.
The pinnacle of Hernandez’s career came with his Breeders’ Cup Classic triumph in 2012 with Ian Wilkes’s Fort Larned. His most well-known accomplishment was working with Girvin, who for trainer Joe Sharp won the 2017 Louisiana Derby (G2) and Risen Star (G2).
The first Hernandez child to carry on his father’s legacy was Brian Jr. Having gone by “B.J.” since childhood and now has surpassed his father in notoriety. He won the Eclipse Award in 2004 for being the top apprentice, and he with Fort Larned won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2012. With 1,224 career wins, he is now chasing close on his father’s record.
He won the Kentucky Derby in 2024 while riding Mystik Dan, with guidance from Kenny McPeek. Riding Thorpedo Anna, McPeek’s other horse, he had won the Kentucky Oaks the day before.
WOW. 😱
Mystik Dan WINS the 150th Kentucky Derby in a PHOTO FINISH! pic.twitter.com/N2jfd2TsKe
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 4, 2024
His major racing wins are Kentucky Derby (2024), Kentucky Oaks (2024), Louisiana Handicap (2004), Remington Springboard Mile Stakes (2004), Indiana Derby (2006, 2012), Edgewood Stakes (2007), Ack Ack Handicap (2012), Cornhusker Handicap (2012), Indiana Derby (2012), Indiana Oaks (2012, 2023), Whitney Handicap (2012), Beaumont Stakes (2013), Illinois Derby (2013), Opening Verse Stakes (2016, 2020). In the American Classics/Breeders’ Cup wins, he clinched Kentucky Derby (2024) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (2012).
Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr’s family
Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr’s father was Brian Hernandez Sr, a former jockey. His brother Colby Hernandez and Courtney Hernandez are also into horse riding.
The Thoroughbred jockey resides in Simpsonville, Kentucky alongside his wife, Jamie and three kids Joshlyn, Benjamin and Anabelle. He was born in Lafayette, Louisiana and started riding horses aged 3.
Hernandez has over the years formed a potent partnership with trainer Kenny McPeek, and in 2024, the duo teamed to sweep the Longines Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby to with Hernadez winning $500,000 in prize money for the win. His total life time earnings stand at $130,641,769.