Dodgers pitcher, horse racing jockeys linked to

A Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and two of the top jockeys in horse racing have been allegedly linked to unlawful cockfighting in Puerto Rico through social media posts, according to reporting from USA Today.

The article, printed Thursday, highlights social media posts promoting cockfighting tournaments that image three-time All-Star nearer Edwin Díaz in his Dodgers uniform and an article in El Nuevo Día, the most important circulating newspaper in Puerto Rico, quoting Díaz.

Brothers and jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz, who completed first and second, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby this month have been marketed as contributors in a cockfighting match in 2025, according to the outlet.

Representatives for Díaz and the Ortiz brothers didn’t immediately reply to requests for remark on Thursday. Diaz and the Ortiz brothers have been born in Puerto Rico where cockfighting has been a longstanding cultural custom, a large industry and a source of rigidity between the U.S. territory and the federal authorities.

In 2019, a federal law banning cockfighting took impact in Puerto Rico. Before the law, the blood sport had been made unlawful in all 50 states, but not U.S. territories. Many Puerto Ricans noticed the ban as an assault on their tradition and vowed to defy the law.

Puerto Rico responded by passing a law saying that it’s legal to host cockfights as long as people don’t export or import the animals or any items or companies associated to cockfighting. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 declined to hear a problem to the federal law introduced by a group that argued Congress exceeded its energy by making use of the ban to Puerto Rico.

In the El Nuevo Día story, which printed in March, Díaz is quoted speaking about cockfighting, saying it was a pastime he’d adopted since he was a baby. He was attending a match in which his household entered 4 roosters, according to the article.

“It’s legal in Puerto Rico, thank God. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” he said in Spanish. “It’s something I’ve done since childhood, something my dad instilled in me.”

The Dodgers signed Díaz to a three-year, $69-million contract in December 2025. Last month, the group announced that Díaz was having surgical procedure to take away “loose bodies” in his proper elbow and can be out until the second half of the season.

A Facebook post by Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico on Dec. 17, 2025, photos the Ortiz brothers and lists them as contributors in a cockfighting event. The post, which is in Spanish, notes that the brothers excel in worldwide horse racing, but also have a ardour for cockfighting.

“Brothers Irad and José Luis Ortiz accepted the challenge of participating in the ‘Caribbean Grand Champion’ tournament with a single goal: to become undisputed champions,” the post read in Spanish.

Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming, which is charged with regulating horse racing, launched an investigation after receiving reviews that Irad Ortiz and Jose Ortiz have been taking part in a cockfighting event, Travers Manley, the senior vice president of gaming and media relations for the group, wrote in a assertion to The Times. It just isn’t clear when the investigation particularly started.

“The investigation included the stewards meeting with Irad and Jose. Following the investigation, KHRG stewards elected not to take administrative action against them,” Manley wrote.