Jose Ortiz

While the spotlight was rightly focused on Cherie DeVaux last week at Saratoga as she wrapped up two-thirds of the Triple Crown with Golden Tempo (Curlin) with the win in the GI Belmont Stakes, the week that Mark Casse had should not be overlooked. Casse won four stakes races, including three Grade I's. The stars were GI Ogden Phipps Stakes winner Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), GI Just a Game Stakes winner Classic Q (Classic Empire) and GI Acorn winner Counting Stars (Honor A.P.). Casse was the Gainesway Guest of the Week...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Golden Tempo (Curlin), the Keeneland-based winner of GI Kentucky Derby, on Saturday had his final work in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes June 6 at Saratoga Race Course, the track said in a press release on Saturday morning. With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard for trainer Cherie DeVaux, the colt covered four furlongs on a fast track in :48.20. At 7:30 a.m. ET--after the first morning renovation period--Golden Tempo worked on the inside of 4-year-old stakes-placed winner So Sandy (Omaha Beach). Golden Tempo produced...

4th-CD, 125K, O/c, 3yo, f, 1m, 2:15 p.m. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' MASHALLAH (Maxfield) earned an eye-popping 106 Beyer Speed Figure in her Keeneland debut going six furlongs for Brendan Walsh Apr. 23. That form was flattered when the third-place runner from that field, In Scope (Gun Runner), went on to earn the 'Rising Star' moniker herself in her next start May 22. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione takes over the ride from Joel Rosario Saturday from the far outside gate as the $1.25-million OBS March grad stretches out against...

Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred Golden Tempo (Curlin), the Keeneland-based winner of the May 2, GI Kentucky Derby, on Saturday turned in his second of three works at the track in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course June 6, according to a press release from Keeneland on Saturday morning. With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard for trainer Cherie DeVaux, the colt covered five furlongs on a good track in 1:00.20. The workout was originally planned for Friday, but was postponed due to wet conditions after...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) was back in the news earlier this month when the HISA Board of Directors ruled that there would be no change to the status quo when it came to the rules regarding Lasix. That decision came after HISA commissioned a number of studies to look into the effects of the medication. To discuss the Lasix decision, another drop in the number of fatalities, the controversies surrounding why so many pre-race vet reviews are leading to scratches, the HERF initiative and more, HISA CEO...

3rd-CD, 120K, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, 5:58 p.m. Trainer Mark Casse and Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz team up on PLAY IT AGAIN (Speightstown) from the rail in this five-furlong turf sprint. A $725,000 Keeneland September grad, the Kindred Stables-bred, from his sire's last crop, is the first to the track for an unraced daughter of American Pharoah. That mare is a daughter of GI Ogden Phipps Handicap winner Seattle Smooth, making her a half to GSW She Be Smooth (Lexitonian) and GSP Seattle Slang (Tapit). Casse and Ortiz have previously...

A story in the Thursday edition of USA Today alleges that the ties to cockfighting for Jose and Irad Ortiz go beyond the social media video which surfaced in January showing them taking bets at an undated cockfight, documenting photos and social media posts which suggest a deeper participation in the sport. In January, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to the NTRA asking that the brothers be banned from further Eclipse consideration due to the social media video. The USA Today article cites...

Chip Honcho (Connect) had his final major tune-up for the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes when he worked four furlongs in :50.20 (39/47) at Churchill Downs Sunday. Exercise rider Luiyi Ortiz was aboard for the work, which was one of trainer Steve Asmussen's typical easy half-mile moves the week of a race. Chip Honcho's big work came May 2, when he worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 (1/14). "I think we're in a very good place with him right now," said Asmussen, who won the Preakness in 2007 with Curlin and...

With the announcement that Golden Tempo (Curlin) will be skipping the GI Preakness Stakes, the GI Kentucky Derby winner's jockey Jose Ortiz has picked up the mount on Chip Honcho (Connect) in the May 16 Classic. Ortiz rode the Steve Asmussen-trained colt to his maiden win at Churchill Downs last November. Paco Lopez rode the colt to victory in the Dec. 20 Gun Runner Stakes and Luis Saez was aboard for his runner-up effort in the Feb. 14 GII Risen Star Stakes and fifth-place finish in the Mar. 21 GII...

The TDN Writers' Room team had so much to say and so many people to talk to when it came to this year's GI Kentucky Derby, that we decided that one podcast was not enough. Our traditional podcast features winning trainer Cherie DeVaux (watch that here), but how could we overlook jockey Jose Ortiz or co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito? We couldn't, so we gave each of them a podcast of their own. It was a memorable couple of days for Ortiz, who won both the Derby on Golden Tempo (Curlin)...

Jose Ortiz is one of the nation's best jockeys, but he had never won the Kentucky Derby until he steered Golden Tempo to victory on May 2, 2026 at Churchill Downs. Jose talks to the Writers' Room team about the experience on this Overtime episode.

There was little question as to who would be the primary Gainesway Guest of the Week on this week's edition of the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. Trainer Cherie DeVaux not only won the GI Kentucky Derby with Golden Tempo (Curlin), she also became the first female trainer to win the race. But there were so many good storylines out of this year's Derby, that the podcast split off into three parts. In what we are calling the "TDN Writers' Room Podcast Overtime" we also featured in-depth interviews...