Irad Ortiz Jr.

Plans are taking shape for a new global jockeys' league, which would see 12 world-renowned riders compete against each other multiple times a year, across prestigious racecourses located in each of the major racing jurisdictions. It is hoped that the project will get off the ground in 2026, provided commercial partners to help fund the competition can be found in the interim. Co-founded by former Godolphin chief executive John Ferguson and Lachlan Fitt, who served as chief financial officer of Entain Australia from 2018 until earlier this year, the idea...

The Championship Meet titles have been decided at Gulfstream Park with trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and owner Ken Ramsey topping their respective categories. Joseph collected his fourth consecutive meeting accolade with 70 victories and his 12th consecutive title overall at the track. In addition to wins, he also topped the standing by purses won with more than $5.8-million to his credit. Highlights included MGISW White Abarrio (Race Day) and his exhibition-like performances in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and last Saturday's GIII Ghostzapper Stakes on...

After starting his career with two daylight wins at Gulfstream Park and Churchill Downs last year on GI Florida Derby Day and GI Kentucky Derby Day, respectively, 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe (Constitution) nearly pulled off victory in the GI Belmont Stakes in only his third career start, finishing just a half-length behind Dornoch (Good Magic), and then finishing second to that same rival in the GI Haskell Stakes. Sent to the sidelines with bone bruising after those four scintillating starts, the Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables runner made his...

Shaking off a more experienced and favored rival at the top of the Gulfstream stretch, Blueberry Hill (Munnings) powered home in eye-catching fashion Thursday to become the latest 'TDN Rising Star' for Coolmore's Munnings. The 3-1 second choice behind third-time starter Keepsake (Into Mischief), the Todd Pletcher trainee led from the jump but never got too comfortable up front as her rival stalked just off her hip through much of the running through fractions of :22.43 and :45.43. As the top pair opened up a gap back to the rest...

Irad Ortiz Jr. has been handed a three-day stewards' suspension in the aftermath of his disqualification for interference in the Jan. 11 Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Ortiz will sit Jan. 19, 22, 23, as per his agent, Steve Rushing. Dave Grening of Daily Racing Form was first to report this news via a posting on the X social media platform. Ortiz has led North America in victories in each of the last eight years and was voted the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey in 2018-20 and 2022-23. He...

Dornoch (Good Magic), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and Fierceness (City of Light) in the Three-Year-Old Male category were among the finalists for the 2024 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence through the past year in Thoroughbred racing, the National Thoroughbred Racing Associaiton (NTRA) said in a Sunday release. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on FanDuel TV, and other outlets, during the ceremony, presented by John Deere, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club, on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the...

Traffic trouble proved to be no problem for Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro), who muscled his way to the lead and went on to becoming racing's newest millionaire in the GII Ft. Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Despite winning twice this season in the lead up to this race, Major Dude had been rounding into his best form to date. When he won last out Oct. 10 at Keeneland against allowance company, his two-length victory was given a 96 Beyer and his effort July 20 at Saratoga against optional claimers garnered...

After a Breeders' Cup run in the sun, trainer Chad Brown is back on his home turf--literally--for another graded race at Aqueduct. When the top conditioner has paired with red-hot jockey Flavien Prat over the past 60 days, the duo wins at a rock-solid clip of almost 25% out of 51 attempts. In Friday's GIII Pebbles Stakes, the Brown-Prat alliance tries to get Klaravich Stables's Oversubscribed (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) back into the winner's circle. As the 2-1 favorite on the morning-line here, the last time Brown booked Prat...

Irad Ortiz, Jr., a five-time Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey, captured his 4,000th career win aboard Good Temper in Sunday's first race at Keeneland. Trained by Will Walden for owner Mark Stanley, Good Temper showed the way in the 1 1/16-mile dirt route for juvenile fillies, drawing off to win by 1 3/4-lengths as the odds-on favorite. "I just have to thank God first. I started in New York in 2011, and they opened their home for me, supported me big time every day," said Ortiz, Jr. to Keeneland...

As recently as 2015, it looked like Dylan Davis's career was stuck in neutral. He won just 57 races that year with earnings of $1,859,318. He was, at best, a middle-of-the-pack rider on the NYRA circuit. Fast forward to 2024 and a new Davis has emerged. With three months to go on the year he's already won 147 races and earned $11,318,656 and is on schedule to have the best year of his career. His win aboard Todd Pletcher trainee Tapit Trice (Tapit) in last Saturday's GII Woodward Stakes was...

The seven-day Kentucky Downs meet set another record for wagering, totaling $90,181,408 and up eight percent over last year, according to a press release from the track late Wednesday. That included a single-day record of $21,184,941 on the Saturday, Sept. 7 card featuring six graded stakes worth $2 million for Kentucky-breds ($1 million for others). As for the meet's leaders, jockey Tyler Gaffalione finished with nine wins, to pull even with Irad Ortiz Jr. for the riding title, while Brendan Walsh's sixth victory put him in a tie for the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In a summer like no other at Saratoga Race Course --words that are appropriate most every year--which concluded Monday, there was noteworthy change that blended nicely into the tradition that make America's most important race meet so popular. To wit: A year ago, the main story of the meet, was the number of catastrophic injuries - 14 - which horses suffered in training and competition. With even more strict safety measures in place, there was single racing fatality and one in training during the meeting. Though...