For accidental jockey JD Acosta, another goal in sight
Nearing 4,000 wins
Frank Vespe
November 13, 2026
J.D. Acosta has won more than 3,800 races, captured five graded stakes, and ridden horses that have earned more than $80 million.
Not bad for a guy who didn’t exactly grow up craving a chance to ride. In fact, you might call him an accidental jockey, but for a guy who’s strong, fit, and athletic – but also under five feet tall – it turned out to be the perfect profession.
“The funny part was, I never even wanted to be a jockey,” Acosta said during his Nov. 11 appearance on the Midlantic Racing Today podcast. “I didn’t know what a jockey was.”
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Nearly a quarter-century after arriving in the United States from Puerto Rico, the 45-year-old Acosta remains a fixture at Charles Town, where he ranks fifth in wins and fourth in earnings this year.
And he’s still chasing another milestone.
“Honestly, my goal now is try to win my 4,000th race,” he said.
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised there and in Puerto Rico, Acosta attended Puerto Rico’s famed jockey school despite having virtually no background with horses. His initial ambition was modest: win 100 races.
He accomplished that and plenty more.
Acosta arrived in the Mid-Atlantic in April 2002, winning aboard Right Decision in his first Charles Town mount. In the weeks that followed, he rode at Pimlico, the then-Philadelphia Park, and Delaware.
But each time he returned to Charles Town, it seemed, he earned another victory. In fact, he won with nine of his first 18 Charles Town starters, helping him to an apprentice year in which he won 200 races, which ranked him 39th in the United States.
By 2008, he ranked third nationally in victories with 322. He finished fifth the following year, surpassing 300 wins for the second consecutive year with 307.
His career has included memorable partnerships with horses ranging from graded stakes winner Sweet Goodbye to Rapid Redux, the claiming horse whose remarkable 22-race winning streak – 19 of those wins coming in 2011 alone — captivated racing fans and earned the horse a special Eclipse Award, as well as the Secretariat Vox Populi Award.
Acosta was among Rapid Redux’s regular riders during the streak, including six of his final seven starts. That was an assignment that brought unexpected pressure.
“I don’t want to be the jockey that messed up this race,” he recalled thinking as the victories mounted.
Which led to the horse’s final career start at Laurel Park in 2012, which came after it had been announced that he would receive a special Eclipse Award. Acosta rode him to victory by three-quarters of a length.
“All the news and everybody was there. I was like, oh my god, man!” the jockey remembered. “If I get beat with this horse today, I’m going to get killed, man.”
Even more memorable was his 2022 upset aboard 42-1 Double Crown in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Aqueduct.
The victory carried special satisfaction: among the horses Double Crown defeated was Baby Yoda, whose first career victory had come with Acosta aboard.
“I wanted to beat the horse so bad because I was the first one to win on it,” Acosta said.
He did.
Acosta has also won 15 West Virginia Breeders Classics races, tying Larry Reynolds for third all-time behind Arnaldo Bocachica and Travis Dunkelberger.
To Acosta, sharing company with those riders is a significant accomplishment.
“Dunkelberger for me was one of the greatest riders riding at Charles Town,” he said, adding that he has always admired Reynolds’ intelligence in the saddle.
Still, Acosta wonders whether his career might have been even more productive had he stayed put rather than pursuing opportunities in New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and elsewhere.
Those moves brought valuable experiences, including a Preakness mount, but also meant repeatedly rebuilding his business.
Now a father of three daughters, Acosta places greater value on time at home. His wife Adi works as a photographer at Charles Town, and the family has put down roots in West Virginia.
He remains remarkably active, exercising horses most mornings and often running five or six miles before riding at night.
But he acknowledges the business has changed. Winning mounts are harder to secure, and riders must work harder in the mornings to build relationships with trainers.
His plan is to expand his riding opportunities at Laurel and Timonium while continuing at Charles Town.
Four thousand wins remain the target.
And although his house is already crowded with trophies, there’s always room for another.
Especially one marking a milestone he never imagined reaching.
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