Irad Ortiz Jr. Wins Record Fifth Bill Shoemaker Award at Breeders’ Cup

Irad Ortiz Jr. is celebrating a winning weekend with a special title.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican jockey, who guided three horses to Breeders’ Cup victories November 3-4 at Santa Anita during the World Championships, won the 21st Bill Shoemaker Award as the outstanding jockey of the event.

Irad Ortiz Jr.,The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14 championship races with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.

Ortiz clinched his fifth Shoemaker Award by riding Elite Power to victory Saturday afternoon in the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), the final Breeders’ Cup race of the weekend.

Ortiz also rode his other winners on Saturday: White Abarrio in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and Goodnight Olive in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Two riders had two victories each over the weekend: Junior Alvarado and Ryan Moore.

Alvarado won Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Cody’s Wish.

Moore won Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Unquestionable (FR) and Saturday’s $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) on Auguste Rodin (IRE).

The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Bill Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby four times, won 8,833 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.

With this year’s win, Ortiz breaks a tie for most Shoemaker Award wins with Garrett Gomez (4).

Bill Shoemaker Award winners: 

2003: Alex Solis
2004: John Velazquez
2005: Garrett Gomez
2006: Frankie Dettori
2007: Garrett Gomez
2008: Garrett Gomez
2009: Julien Leparoux
2010: Garrett Gomez
2011: John Velazquez
2012: Mike Smith
2013: Mike Smith
2014: John Velazquez
2015: Ryan Moore
2016: Mike Smith
2017: Javier Castellano
2018: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2020: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2021: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2022: Ryan Moore
2023: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Irad Ortiz Jr. Rides White Abarrio to Breeders’ Cup Classic Victory

Irad Ortiz Jr. is celebrating a classic win…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican jockey rode White Abarrio to victory by a length on Saturday at the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Irad Ortiz Jr.,Ridden by Ortiz Jr., White Abarrio ran 1¼ miles in 2:02.87. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite, the gray colt paid $7.20 to win.

“I thought that he was a winner the whole way around the track,” trainer Rick Dutrow said.

Japan-bred Derma Sotogake was second and Proxy was third.

Dutrow saddled White Abarrio for just the third time.

The 4-year-old colt was previously trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., but the owners moved him to Dutrow’s barn after two of Joseph’s other horses died this spring.

Dutrow returned to training earlier this year after serving a 10-year suspension by New York racing officials for a history of violations. The 64-year-old trained Big Brown to victories in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Irad Ortiz Jr. Rides Mo Donegal to Victory at the Belmont Stakes

Irad Ortiz Jr. is celebrating a winning ride…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican jockey led Mo Donegal to victory on Saturday for the second Belmont Stakes victory of his career.

Irad Ortiz Jr., Mo Donegal, Belmont Stakes,“Be patient,” Triple Crown veteran Todd Pletcher told Ortiz prior to the race. “I think you have the best last quarter of any horse in the race.”

Pletcher was correct… Mo Donegal pulled away down the home stretch and held off filly Nest to win the Belmont Stakes, giving Pletcher a 1-2 finish and his sixth Triple Crown victory, including four at this track on the outskirts of New York City.

“To be honest with you, we were a little confident going into the race today,” Donegal Racing CEO and co-owner Jerry Crawford said. “When he turned for home, I was like, forget about it. I know Todd thought he could get a strong last quarter mile, and he surely did.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., Mo Donegal, Belmont Stakes,Rich Strike, a stunning Kentucky Derby winner at 80-to-1 odds, was sixth.

Mo Donegal rounded the 1½-mile distance in 2 minutes, 28.28 seconds, three lengths ahead of Nest — ridden by Ortiz’s brother, Jose.

Pletcher, who lives on Long Island, adds another Belmont title following wins with Rags to Riches in 2007, Palace Malice in 2013 and Tapwrit in 2017.

Mo Donegal beat an eight-horse field without a clear favorite. We the People, an outstanding runner in the mud, opened at 2 to 1 amid a rainy forecast but reached 7 to 2 by race time as showers held off.

Mo Donegal entered the gate the betting favorite at 5 to 2. We the People led for much of the race, but Mo Donegal and Ortiz took charge coming out of the final turn.

The 3-year-old colt paid $7.20, $3.80 and $3. Nest — who nearly became Pletcher’s second filly to win Belmont after Rags to Riches — paid $5.30 and $4.10. Skippylongstocking was third and returned $5.60 to show. We the People finished fourth.

Rich Strike owner Rick Dawson and trainer Eric Reed held the Kentucky Derby winner out of the Preakness with an eye on Belmont, the first healthy horse to skip Pimlico after winning the Triple Crown’s first race since 1985.

Reed said the team encouraged jockey Sonny Leon to try pushing Rich Strike from the outside, but the horse kept trying to get back inside — where he made a late charge past 19 horses to win at Churchill Downs. Rich Strike spent much of Saturday’s race in last place and couldn’t recover.

“I think we just made a tactical error,” Reed said.

Just like Rich Strike, Mo Donegal was at the back of the pack at the Derby, but the colt didn’t have enough kick at Churchill Downs. He found it Saturday, winning the 154th running of the $1.5 million race.

Mo Donegal made a winner out of co-owner Mike Repole, a local entrepreneur known around the track as “Mike from Queens.” Repole also co-owns Nest.

“This is New York’s biggest race and to win it here, with my family and friends and 70 people here, this will be a big winner’s circle,” he said.

It’s the fourth straight year the Triple Crown contests were won by three different horses, a first for the sport since 1926 to 1929.

The race marked a return to form for Belmont itself after the 2020 Stakes was closed to the public due to the pandemic and the 2021 event was limited to 11,238 spectators by virus restrictions.

Capacity was capped again, this time at 50,000, because of congestion concerns stemming from the newly built arena next door for the NHL‘s New York Islanders. Still, fans crammed into cars on the Long Island Rail Road and breathed life into the 117-year-old track with floral headwear, pastel suits and the unmistakable musk of booze and cigars.

The reported attendance of 46,103 fell far short of the grounds record 120,139 set in 2004. Not much of a surprise, given the shaky weather forecast and the lack of a Triple Crown contender.

The field was sparse, too. No horse ran all three Triple Crown legs this year, heightening concern that three races in five weeks may be too tight a schedule to keep the horses healthy.

Irad Ortiz Jr. Wins Five Races at the Saratoga Race Course

It’s five for fighting for Irad Ortiz Jr.

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican jockey won five races at the Saratoga Race Course on Thursday, equaling his feat of a year ago.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

He won the second, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth races from his eight mounts at the upstate New York track. Last July 31, Ortiz Jr. also won five races.

The victories moved Ortiz Jr. into a tie for second in the jockey standings with his brother, Jose.

Ortiz Jr. was the leading rider at Saratoga in 2015 and 2018.

“When you have the right horses, they make you look good,” he said. “To win five races in one day at any track is so special.”

Ortiz Jr.’s highest-priced winner was in the ninth when Admiral Lynch paid $16.80 to win. He won the NYSSS Statue of Liberty for the second straight year, guiding Fresco to a victory that paid $3.

Hall of Famers Ramon Dominguez and John Velazquez have previously won six races in one day at Saratoga.