Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr. Wrap Up Aqueduct Meet Titles

Chad Brown led all trainers with 17 victories, and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. earned another riding title with 29 wins as the 25-day fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack concluded following the Dec. 8 card.

Drawing Away Stable had two wins on closing day, tying Klaravich Stables with nine wins apiece to share the top spot on the leaderboard for owners, according to a New York Racing Association news release.

Ortiz won his first NYRA circuit meet title since the 2018 Belmont Park fall meet, tallying a 29-22-15 record in 119 mounts for earnings of more than $1.72 million. Among his highlights was piloting Empressof the Nile to a half-length win in the Nov. 3 Zagora Stakes.

The 27-year-old native of Puerto Rico earned his 16th riding title for an individual meet. The three-time NYRA leading rider won his second Aqueduct fall meet crown and first since 2015. Jose Lezcano was second with 24 wins in 125 mounts.

"You need the horses first, and you need the help from the trainers and owners, and they give me the help. If they give me the horses, I can win races," Ortiz said. "Without them, it wouldn't be possible."

Brown was the top conditioner for a fourth consecutive NYRA meet, building on his efforts in the Belmont spring/summer meet, the Saratoga Race Course summer meet, and his Belmont fall crown.

From 61 starters, Brown's runners finished 17-9-11, winning 27.9% of the time while amassing earnings of $1.04 million. He had five more wins than second-place finisher Linda Rice.

The Mechanicville, N.Y., native has won the past three Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer and has been NYRA's leading trainer the past four years. He is likely to extend his run to a fifth year, with a 45-win edge over Rice in the standings.

Klaravich Stables finished as the top owner for a fifth consecutive NYRA meet, starting with a tie in the Aqueduct spring meet and continuing with the Belmont spring/summer meet, Saratoga, and Belmont fall. Klaravich finished with nine wins, four runner-up efforts, and five third-place finishes in 22 starts for earnings of $464,135.

Drawing Away Stable had a pair of big-priced winners Sunday to tie Klaravich, with Summer Bourbon taking a six-furlong claiming contest in race 2, returning $23.60 on a $2 win bet. Twisted Tom pulled an even bigger upset in race 8, winning a 1 1/8-mile optional claimer at 14-1 odds, paying $30.40. In total, Drawing Away Stable, the NYRA leading owner for 2013, finished the meet with a 9-4-1 record and earnings of $306,475 in 25 starts.

Thoroughbred racing will remain at Aqueduct for the 2019-20 winter meet, which will commence Dec. 12 and run through March 29. The meet will offer 45 stakes, starting with the New York Stallion Stakes Series. 

January will feature 17 dates with live racing generally conducted Thursday through Sunday, with the exception of New Year's Day, a Wednesday card highlighted by the $150,000 Jerome Stakes for freshly minted 3-year-olds as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby. There will be no live racing Jan. 2 and Jan. 16 to accommodate the special holiday cards.