Brian Hernandez: 2025 Kentucky Derby Jockey Profile

Brian Hernandez, Jr. has been riding since 2003, and has done so at a high level throughout his career. He won the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2004, and won his first graded-stakes race when Cielo Gold won the Indiana Derby in 2006. He broke through to the top level in 2012 with Grade 1 wins in both the Whitney (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with Fort Larned, and has been a regular fixture in the biggest races and race meets ever since.

However, it was the first weekend in May 2024 at Churchill Downs when Hernandez’s career hit another gear. In the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, he rode Thorpedo Anna to victory for trainer Kenny McPeek. The next day in Louisville, Hernandez and McPeek won the Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan, marking the first win in that race for both of them. Hernandez would go on to win a total of five Grade 1 races in 2024 with Thorpedo Anna, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Thorpedo Anna earned Horse of the Year honors and has remained at the top of the game in 2025, with wins in the Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom (G1) already this year. Of course, Hernandez rode her both times.

In 2025, Hernandez returns to the Run for the Roses with Blue Grass (G1) winner Burnham Square.

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Brian Hernandez in the Kentucky Derby

Brian Hernandez has ridden in the Kentucky Derby five times, with his first call coming in 2016 with Tom’s Ready, who finished 12th behind Nyquist. The only time he has hit the board in the feature at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May was in his most recent attempt, his 2024 victory with Mystik Dan at odds of 18-1. That day, he settled midfield early, made a rail-skimming run to lead approaching the quarter pole, opened up in the lane, and held by a nose over a pair of world-class closers in Sierra Leone and Forever Young.

Hernandez’s best finish before 2024 happened in 2017, when he finished eighth behind Always Dreaming with McCraken. McCraken was trained by Ian Wilkes for owner-breeder Whitham Thoroughbreds. These are the same connections as Burnham Square, his 2025 Kentucky Derby mount.

Brian Hernandez in the Triple Crown

Brian Hernandez has ridden in the Preakness Stakes five times. The Preakness was his first experience on the Triple Crown trail; he finished sixth at Pimlico with Departing in the 2013 edition of the race, fresh out of a victory together in the Illinois Derby (G3) at Hawthorne.

Hernandez has hit the board twice in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, in each of his last two starts in the race. So far, both of his board-hitters in the second jewel of the Triple Crown have been for trainer Kenny McPeek. He finished third behind Early Voting in 2022 with the lightly raced Creative Minister, who was making his graded-stakes debut in that race. Hernandez was second in the 2024 Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, who rallied from midfield but could not quite get to frontrunning winner Seize the Grey down the lane.

In the Belmont Stakes, Hernandez has only ridden twice. Both of those rides came for McPeek, on the horses who hit the board in the Preakness. He rode Creative Minister to a fifth-place finish behind Mo Donegal in the 2022 edition of the Belmont, and was eighth behind Dornoch with Mystik Dan in 2024.

Brian Hernandez and 2025 Kentucky Derby Contender Burnham Square

Brian Hernandez will ride Burnham Square for just the second time ever in the Kentucky Derby. Though the Blue Grass at Keeneland on April 8 was Burnham Square’s sixth career race, it was his first start with Hernandez in the irons.

Burnham Square started his career with Francisco Arrieta in the saddle. Arrieta rode Burnham Square to a close second in his first race, which came in a $150,000 maiden claiming sprint at Keeneland in October, and then a close third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs in November. He showed a late-running style in both of those races.

In December, Burnham Square got a rider change to Edgard Zayas for his next start in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park. He showed a bit more early speed than he had been in either of his two Kentucky starts as a two-year-old; Burnham Square stalked early and opened up to win by nine lengths. Zayas returned to the irons February 1 for the Holy Bull (G3); they came from the rear early, made a well-timed move, and won by 1 ¾ lengths over eventual Florida Derby (G1) winner Tappan Street. Zayas also rode Burnham Square to a fourth-place finish behind Sovereignty in the Fountain of Youth (G2), a race in which he was at the rear early but outfinished in the lane.

Burnham Square went back to the Keeneland track for his last race before the Run for the Roses, the Blue Grass. Trainer Ian Wilkes gave Hernandez a try in the saddle, and the rider change worked out well. Though Burnham Square was a distant last early and East Avenue was alone on the lead, Hernandez coaxed a long, sustained run out of his mount. Burnham Square found enough to reel in the pacesetter, getting up by a nose. Though Burnham Square won’t be the favorite—that honor will almost certainly go to Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism—Burnham Square was the leading points-earner on the road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby trail.

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