Approximately when did hispanic jockeys begin racing commonly in the United States?

Question

I'm writing an historical novel and I'm wondering if hispanic jockeys were prevalent in the early 1930s.

Answer 1

The jockey that paved the way for Hispanic jockeys was Milo Valenzuela. He began his career in the late 1940's and early 1950's. He rode Tim Tam, Kelso, and Forward Pass, among others. His move to America gave inspiration to Laffit Pincay, Jr. and many others. There is a video about him on bloodhorse.com. Scroll down about halfway down and you will see bloodhorse.com video. Under "Jeff Blea" you will see Milo Valenzuela. It is a very good video about Milo.