Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.

Born: July 24, 1989 | Birthplace: San Juan, Puerto Rico | Residence: Tampa, FL

First Win: Honorable Jonas, Aqueduct, 2017 | Started Riding: 2016, Aqueduct Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Belmont Park, Monmouth Park, Mid-Atlantic

Talk about making the most of a golden opportunity. When Diaz got a chance to ride a promising, turf-loving 3-year-old filly for top trainer Chad Brown in the summer of 2021, he grasped the chance like a kid sticking his hand in a candy jar. Flash forward to last season’s Tampa Bay Downs meet, where Diaz and the now 4-year-old Bleecker Street extended her winning streak to five races for Brown, Diaz and owner Peter M. Brant, vaulting to national prominence with victories in the Grade III Endeavour Stakes and the Grade II Hillsborough Stakes. Those were Diaz’s first career gradedstakes victories. Diaz has finished fourth in his first two seasons at the Oldsmar oval, tying Daniel Centeno with 42 winners last season. Diaz followed that up by finishing fifth at Monmouth Park with 33 victories. Diaz draws inspiration from his younger brother, Hector Miguel (“Migue”), a former jockey who was paralyzed from the waist down from a riding accident at Hipodromo Camarero in Puerto Rico in 2015. Their father, Hector Rafael Diaz, Sr., was a jockey; he retired in his mid-30s after incurring numerous injuries. Although the elder Diaz and Norma Sanchez, their mother, were not sold on the idea of their sons being jockeys, years of going to Camarero to watch their father compete stoked their passion. The brothers talk on a daily basis, with Migue often giving Hector, Jr., his thoughts on upcoming races. Hector, Jr., and Migue are cousins of brothers Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Jose Ortiz, two of the best in the business. Hector, Jr.’s first victory came in 2017 at Aqueduct on Honorable Jonas, launching a year in which he rode 74 winners and was a finalist for an Eclipse Award as Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. Diaz relishes the strategy involved in riding races on the turf, and his skill and timing on the grass already have made him a “go-to” jockey for many top Oldsmar trainers and a fan favorite.