Jockey Martin Chuan came into 2023 with an impressive resume in his home country of Peru. He was the perennial champion jockey there, with three wins in the Derby Nacional and a slew of other Group 1 victories to his name.

It had been a decade since his first start in the U.S. at Turfway Park in 2013. Although he had ridden full meets at Ellis and Churchill Downs in 2018 and 2019, he had ultimately returned to Peru afterward. 

2023 would mark a turning point for Chuan: it was the year he chose to stay in the States for good.

“Honestly, I did it for my family, for my daughter, and for a life here,” he says. “Also, I needed more competition.” 

No surprise there, given his tremendous success in South America. 

Chuan began his riding career in 2012, riding for his father and other Peruvian trainers. A year later, he captured the Derby Nacional, Peru’s biggest race – the first of three total Derby wins for Chuan.

Seven riding championships and more than 1,800 victories later, the jockey left Peru with sights firmly set stateside. He started out at familiar venues like Churchill Downs and Ellis Park, as well as Keeneland and Indiana Downs.

Chuan has also ridden at Oaklawn Park for its past two seasons, and scored his first U.S. stakes win there in April 2024.

This spring, Chuan began working with Delaware-based agent John Weilbacher, and the rider shifted his tack for the first time to the Mid-Atlantic circuit. Since the Delaware meet began on May 14, he’s ridden mostly there but has also made starts at Laurel, Pimlico, and Penn National. 

“I told John that I needed a change,” Chuan says. When Weilbacher steered him east, he recalls, “I talked to my wife, and she said, ‘Let’s go.’”

“His work ethic is off the charts,” says Weilbacher, who also represents current meet leader Jaime Rodriguez. “I try to give him a morning off; he shows up anyway.”

Now just halfway through the year, Chuan is poised to have his best season yet. He’s already at 27 wins – equaling his total victories through all of 2024 – including an impressive hat trick at Delaware on June 6 during the first half of the card. He currently sits third in the track standings with 11 wins from 47 starts.

Chuan, who is pulling in over 15% of available purse money with his mounts, good for 11^th at the Delaware meet, has won 3.05 more races than the odds of his mounts would predict. That’s the second-highest total at the track.

And getting mounts from trainers like Jamie Ness doesn’t hurt, either. Ness has 24 wins at the meet, 16 more than his nearest pursuer. This coming Thursday and Friday, Chuan is named on nine horses, including three of the leading stable’s runners.

“He’s a very professional rider. He doesn’t get rattled in a race and rides through the wire,” Weilbacher says.

Chuan is enjoying his time in the Mid-Atlantic so far. Of course, he’s hoping to win a stakes race or two during the course of the meet, and he’s putting in plenty of effort to get to that next level.

“I’m working so hard in the morning with John, and I feel really good about having my family here,” says Chuan.