A Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and two of the top jockeys in horse racing were allegedly linked to illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico through social media posts, according to reporting from USA Today.
The article, published Thursday, highlights social media posts advertising cockfighting tournaments that picture three-time All-Star closer Edwin Díaz in his Dodgers uniform and an article in El Nuevo Día, the largest circulating newspaper in Puerto Rico, quoting Díaz.
Brothers and jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz, who finished first and second, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby this month were advertised as participants in a cockfighting tournament in 2025, according to the outlet.
Representatives for Díaz and the Ortiz brothers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Diaz and the Ortiz brothers were born in Puerto Rico where cockfighting has been a longstanding cultural tradition, a massive industry and a source of tension between the U.S. territory and the federal government.
In 2019, a federal law banning cockfighting took effect in Puerto Rico. Before the law, the blood sport had been made illegal in all 50 states, but not U.S. territories. Many Puerto Ricans saw the ban as an attack on their culture 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 goods or services related to cockfighting. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 declined to hear a challenge to the federal law brought by a group that argued Congress exceeded its power by applying the ban to Puerto Rico.
In the El Nuevo Día story, which published in March, Díaz is quoted talking about cockfighting, saying it was a pastime he’d followed since he was a child. He was attending a tournament in which his family entered four 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 team announced that Díaz was having surgery to remove “loose bodies” in his right elbow and would be out until the second half of the season.
A Facebook post by Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico on Dec. 17, 2025, pictures the Ortiz brothers and lists them as participants in a cockfighting event. The post, which is in Spanish, notes that the brothers excel in international horse racing, but also have a passion 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 reports that Irad Ortiz and Jose Ortiz were participating in a cockfighting event, Travers Manley, the senior vice president of gaming and media relations for the organization, wrote in a statement to The Times. It is not clear when the investigation specifically began.
“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.
