Martin Garcia

Martin Garcia is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred racing, born in Veracruz on 23 October 1984 and based in Southern California. He moved to the United States in 2003 and worked in a delicatessen in Pleasanton, California, until a former jockey, Mark Hanna, helped him begin as a stablehand and exercise rider. He won in his third career ride in August 2005 and in 2006 outranked the Hall of Fame rider Russell Baze as leading jockey at Golden Gate Fields before relocating to Southern California. Riding for the trainer Bob Baffert, he won the 2010 Preakness Stakes on Lookin at Lucky and the 2011 Kentucky Oaks on Plum Pretty, and in 2014 he won the Breeders' Cup Classic on Bayern, a race that drew debate over a stewards' inquiry into the start.