Irad Ortiz Jr.

Looking to remain perfect while making her stakes debut, 'TDN Rising Star' Time to Dream (Not This Time) made short work of her rivals as she ran off to an easy victory in Saratoga's P.G. Johnson Stakes Wednesday afternoon. A headstrong Vernon Valley (Vekoma) went to the front from her outside draw while Time to Dream, breaking from post 1, settled at the back early through moderate early fractions of :24.03 and :49.21. Given the signal by Irad Ortiz Jr. exiting the far turn, the 3-5 choice was drawn to...

The New York Racing Association has named multiple Eclipse winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. as the recipient of the 2025 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, according to a press release from the track on Friday. Ortiz, Jr., based this summer at Saratoga Race Course, was chosen by a committee comprised of members of the Venezia family, representatives of The Jockeys' Guild and retired Eclipse Award-winning rider Richard Migliore. A ceremony at Saratoga will be held on Friday, Aug. 22. "Joining the list of winners of the Venezia Memorial Award is a...

Even with a lack of it for this running of the GII Honorable Miss Stakes in Saratoga, the Sunshine State was well-represented as Halina's Forte (Mitole) outbattled fellow Florida-bred R Disaster (Awesome Slew) to earn her first graded stakes win. Given the cold shoulder by the betting public, she went off at 24-1 long odds for this sloppy (sealed) running of the contest, and was content to watch R Disaster set the pace as she saved all the ground on the rail in fifth. Still in midpack behind an opening...

Winless since October of his juvenile year, Governor Sam (Improbable) finally broke out of his slump with a smart effort in the GIII Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga. The George Weaver charge managed to string together four victories in a row last season, and begrudgingly faded to third Nov. 1 at Del Mar in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint to wrap that campaign. Back in action Apr. 30 at Churchill Downs for his 3-year-old bow in the William Walker Stakes, Governor Sam again faded to third behind SW...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Before this year, the last time Victor Espinoza rode at Saratoga was the summer of 2015, the year of American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). "That was not a great memory," Espinoza said, recalling when the Triple Crown winner was upset in the Travers by Keen Ice (Curlin). The 53-year-old Hall of Fame jockey is hoping to make a better impression 10 years later as he is spending the summer at the Spa for the first ever. Espinoza, who owns 3,520 career victories, has been working the Saratoga...

The Saratoga meet has just gotten started and it's already appears that Mother Nature is ready for a nasty fight, one NYRA is going to have a hard time winning. On paper, Saturday's card looked excellent with the GII Bowling Green S. and the GI Diana S., plus three maiden 2-year-old races that included a lot of horse with a lot of potential. But the card was wrecked before it started, thanks to a deluge of rain Saturday morning. It came down hard and heavy for about an hour. They...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Before the young horse with the easy-going disposition even stepped on the track at Saratoga Race Course Friday afternoon, just about everyone knew the story behind Dr, Agne (Into Mischief), who is out of Lady Eli (Divine Park). When the 2-year-old colt powered to the finish line and won the seven-furlong, $100,000 maiden special weight, the story came full circle. Dr. Agne, trained by Cherie DeVaux, is named for Dr. Robert Agne, who died at the age of 54 on Labor Day of 2015 after being hit...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Anyone who went by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning did a double take. A jumbo-sized maple tree, which has stood tall for years outside Mott's office, was no more. Thanks to a violent display of weather Thursday night after Opening Day at Saratoga Race Course, the tree was uprooted and came crashing down. Part of the tree came to rest on the roof of Mott's office. Miraculously, there was no damage done to the office, which was unoccupied...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - And now for the main event. With nine days of racing already in the books--a proper warmup by any measure, topped by the GI Belmont Stakes--the 157th season of racing at Saratoga begins Thursday with a 10-race program. It is the earliest-possible start in the calendar-driven schedule for the 40-day season that closes on Labor Day Sept. 1. With one exception in 1982, in the 45 years after racing resumed at Saratoga in 1946 following World War II, Saratoga was what eventually came to be known...

It's been a long time between drinks for Vahva (Gun Runner), the 2024 GI Derby City Distaff Stakes winner whose last career win came exactly a year ago in the Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs, when it was a Grade III event. Upgraded to Grade II this year, the Chicago Stakes was targeted by Vahva's connections after the now-5-year-old made no impact in this year's edition of the Derby City Distaff. Irad Ortiz, Jr. kept her a little closer to the pace than usual in the Chicago, as she tracked...

If one could look up the word 'workmanlike' in racing's lexicon, it surely would have a picture of Alonso Daniel's Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator). And the 6-year-old one again proved that he fits the bill with a professional one-length score over Midnight Mammoth (Midnight Lute) in the GII Hollywood Gold Cup on Santa Anita's Memorial Day card. Installed the 4-5 choice following a third in the nine-furlong GII Oaklawn Handicap Apr. 19, the two-time GII Charles Town Classic winner broke cleanly and settled in an even-tempo fifth as Packs a Wahlop (Creative...

Mike Ryan's Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) kicked off the graded stakes action on the holiday card at Santa Anita Monday with a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Gamely Stakes, giving trainer Saffie Joseph his first-ever win at the Arcadia oval. The Florida-based Joseph doubled up in the very next race when Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) won the GII Hollywood Gold Cup. Sent off at 2-1, Be Your Best bound out to the early lead and was under a snug hold from Irad Ortiz, setting fractions of :22.99 and :46.15 while...