Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. (born November 3, 1985, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American Eclipse Award-winning jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally in 2003 and achieved his first win on November 29, 2003, at Louisiana's Delta Downs.^[2] As of May 2024, he has over 2,500 victories.^[1]

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.^[3] On August 18, 2012, he won the 1,000th race of his career at Ellis Park Race Course^[4] and on November 3, 2012, his 27th birthday, he won the Breeders' Cup Classic aboard Fort Larned at Santa Anita Park.^[5]

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, and then won the Derby the following day on Mystik Dan. Both horses were trained by Ken McPeek.^[6][7]

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".^[8]