Irad Ortiz Jr. receives 3-day suspension for Goodight Olive ride

Leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has been suspended three days for his ride on Goodnight Olive in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. He is already serving a different suspension for careless riding and will begin this one after that one finishes.

Ortiz will serve his latest suspension on November 12, 17 and 18 according to ruling no. LATC056 (2023) from the Santa Anita stewards, dated Sunday. The suspension was previously reported by Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form.

For his Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint ride, Stewards cited Ortiz for "failure to maintain a straight course in the stretch and causing interference." There was no posted inquiry or objection after the running of Saturday's race, though the Equibase chart does note that Goodnight Olive "drifted in taking the path of Society near the three-sixteenths pole, quickly opened clear and held safely." The ruling does not change the finish order or purse distribution of the race.

Ortiz is already serving a different careless riding suspension after an incident at Aqueduct on Oct. 22. He began that three-day suspension Sunday, and will continue to serve it on Thursday and Friday.