Irad Ortiz Jr.
Irad Ortiz Jr. (born August 11, 1992) is a Puerto Rican jockey who has been a leading rider in the New York Thoroughbred horse racing circuit since 2012. He won his first Breeders' Cup race on Lady Eli in 2014, and his first American Classic on Creator in the 2016 Belmont Stakes. He won the 2022 Belmont Stakes on Mo Donegal.
Irad Ortiz Jr. | |
---|---|
Ortiz at the 2018 Breeders' Cup | |
Occupation | Jockey |
Born | Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico | August 11, 1992
Career wins | 3,000+ (ongoing) |
Major racing wins | |
Coaching Club American Oaks (2012 ,2022) Pennsylvania Derby (2012, 2019) Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (2012) Alabama Stakes (2012, 2022) Carter Handicap (2013, 2021) Champagne Stakes (2013, 2017) King's Bishop Stakes (2013) Test Stakes (2014, 2015) Acorn Stakes (2014) Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (2015) Flower Bowl Stakes (2015, 2016, 2018) Manhattan Stakes (2015, 2019, 2020) Spinster Stakes (2015) Diana Stakes (2016, 2017) Spinaway Stakes (2016, 2017, 2019) Beverly D. Stakes (2017) Gamely Stakes (2017) Jockey Club Gold Cup (2017, 2020) Just a Game Stakes (2018, 2020, 2023) Whitney Stakes (2018, 2020, 2022) Arlington Million (2018, 2019) Pegasus World Cup Turf (2019, 2021, 2022) Turf Classic Stakes (2019, 2021) Summer Stakes (2019) Natalma Stakes (2019) Pegasus World Cup (2020, 2022) Troy Stakes (2022) Hollywood Derby (2020) Florida Derby (2021) Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (2021) Carter Handicap (2021) Apple Blossom Handicap (2021) Remsen Stakes (2021) Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (2022) Shoemaker Mile Stakes (2022) New York Stakes (2022) Woodward Stakes (2022) American Classics / Breeders' Cup wins: | |
Racing awards | |
5x Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) Shoemaker Award (2018, 2019, 2020,2021) | |
Significant horses | |
Bar of Gold, Bricks and Mortar, Creator, Goodnight Olive, Lady Eli, Mo Donegal, Newspaperofrecord, Questing, Shamrock Rose, Spun to Run, Stephanie's Kitten, Vino Rosso, Whitmore, White Abarrio, Elite Power | |
Website | |
www |
Ortiz won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 2018 after leading the jockey list by both number of wins and earnings. He had four winners at the 2019 Breeders' Cup event, including wins in both the $4 million Turf and the $6 million Classic. In 2019, Ortiz repeated the Eclipse Award by leading in both wins and second places, as well as establishing a single-year earnings record for North American horse racing of $34,109,019. He won his third straight Eclipse Award in 2020 after again finishing first on both the earnings and wins list.