Born: July 5, 1972
Birthplace: Hollywood, FL
Residence: Miami, FL
Family: Parents
First Win: Mezanotty, 1992, Calder Race Course
Started Riding: 1992, Calder Race Course
Circuit:Tampa Bay Downs, Delaware Park, Presque Isle Downs 
 
Willie Martinez has been a mainstay at Tampa Bay Downs since 1989, when he won the first race of his career here and was the leading apprentice rider in that year.  From 1992 through 2007, Willie Martinez, along with William Henry, held the jockey’s record at Tampa Bay Downs for the most wins in a single season with 123 victories to his credit. 
 
Martinez emigrated to the U.S. in 1988 to work as a hotwalker and groom for his sister's godfather at Finger Lakes Race Track in Farmington, New York.  In 1997, at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, he rode Cryptocloser to victory in the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown series.
 
During his career, Willie Martinez has won riding titles at Tampa Bay Downs, Ellis Park, TurfwayPark, Keeneland and HialeahPark. His nine titles at TurfwayPark in Florence, Kentucky are more than any other jockey in the track's history; also at TurfwayPark, Martinez rode seven winners on July 6, 1993.
 
Martinez is the regular rider of multiple Graded stakes winner Brass Hat. He rode the gelding to victory in several important Graded stakes, including the Grade I Donn Handicap on February 4, 2006; on February 2, 2008, the duo went after the Donn again at GulfstreamPark, this time finishing fourth only three lengths behind the winner.
 
He finished the 2008-2009 racing season at the Oldsmar oval with 30 wins, including a victory aboard On the Vineyard  in teh Hilton Garden Inn Sprint on Florida Cup Day for owner/trainer/breeder Lynne Scace. .  The five-year-old son of Lite the Fuse is a half-brother to Vineyard Haven, a multiple Grade One stakes winner.