sentences:  Martinez was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, but emigrated to the United States in 1988 to work as a hotwalker and groom for his sister's godfather at Finger Lakes Race Track in Farmington, New York.He began riding professionally in 1989 and got his first win that year at Tampa Bay Downs.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.