Angel Tomas Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942 ) is one of the leading thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of all time and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame.
Cordero was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. As a child, Cordero was raised among thoroughbred horses; his father, Angel Cordero Sr., was a rider and trainer himself and his uncles were also horse trainers. It was therefore only natural that Angel would follow in their footsteps and start racing - which he did at a young age. His hometown in America is Long Island, NY.
Cordero was the first Puerto Rican jockey to win all three of the American Classic Races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, though not all in the same year.
In 1974, when he was 31, Cordero won the Kentucky Derby aboard Cannonade. He won the Derby twice more, making him one of only eight jockeys to win the race three or more times in the Derby's history. In 1976, he won on Bold Forbes and in 1985, on Spend A Buck. In 1976, Cordero won the Belmont Stakes on Bold Forbes, and he won the Preakness Stakes twice, once in 1980 aboard Codex and the second time in 1984, aboard Gate Dancer.
Among his other accomplishments, Cordero was the winner of four Breeders' Cup races and was the leading rider at Saratoga Race Course for thirteen years. In 1987, Cordero became the fourth jockey to win over 6,000 races.