'I made a mistake': Ortiz Jr. rides 2 winners following suspension
Record-setting jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. got his 2021-2022 Gulfstream Park championship meet off to a strong start by riding a pair of winners on Thursday’s 10-race program.
Ortiz, 29, was named in six races and finished off the board with his first mount, 2-1 favorite Macedonian, in Race 2. The Puerto Rico native registered back-to-back wins with Time to Two Step ($8) in Race 3 and 4-5 favorite Miss You Ella ($3.60) in Race 3.
“It feels great. It’s been a long time,” Ortiz said. “Thank God we’re back. I’m just happy to be back riding, honestly.”
Ortiz had not ridden since notching three victories on the Dec. 5 Clasic Internacional del Caribe program at Camarero Racetrack in his home country. He also finished second in the Copa Invitacional de Importados (G1) with Luna Fortis.
The championship meet’s three-time defending champion had been serving a 30-day suspension handed down in New York for incidents of careless riding including Grand Casique Dec. 3 at Aqueduct.
“It was a mistake. I’m human. Everybody makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect,” Ortiz said. “I made a mistake and I did my suspension. The stewards did their job, they gave me my suspension and I paid for it, so that’s it.”
Only Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who did it a record five times between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016, has won as many as four consecutive Championship Meet titles. Ortiz rode a record 140 winners at Gulfstream in 2020-2021, breaking Luis Saez’s mark of 137 with his victory aboard Known Agenda in the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm at Xalapa.
Ortiz has won the past three Eclipse Awards as North America’s champion jockey. He led all riders with 336 wins in 2021 and ranked second with 1,443 starts and $29,274,435 in purse earnings. He also won a personal best 36 graded-stakes, 10 of them Grade 1, including the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) aboard Colonel Liam.
Following the Clasico del Caribe, Ortiz remained in Puerto Rico before returning to South Florida to work horses, primarily for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs. He is named in nine of 10 races Friday and 10 of 11 Saturday, including Value Proposition in the $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3).
“I spent time with my family and working,” Ortiz said. “I stayed one week in Puerto Rico and then I came back here and started working to get ready to come back.”
Saez leads the championship meet with 42 wins. Paco Lopez is second with 25 wins and Tyler Gaffalione third at 23.