Ortiz Jr. Edges Counterparts to Win Shoemaker Award
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates a victory on Whitmore in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland
Irad Ortiz Jr., one of five jockeys to win two races during the 2020 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, won the 18th annual Bill Shoemaker Award at the two-day event, given to the most outstanding jockey. It was the third consecutive year he won the award.
The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who won the most races in the 14 World Championship races with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.
Ortiz's victories came on Golden Pal in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) and Whitmore in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). He also finished second on Improbable in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and third on Sharp Samurai in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
It was those minor awards that separated him from fellow two-race winners Joel Rosario, Florent Geroux, John Velazquez, and Pierre-Charles Boudot.
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The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Bill Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby (G1) four times, won 8,833 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Classic aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.
Bill Shoemaker Award winners:
2003: Alex Solis
2004: John Velazquez
2005: Garrett Gomez
2006: Frankie Dettori
2007: Garrett Gomez
2008: Garrett Gomez
2009: Julien Leparoux
2010: Garrett Gomez
2011: John Velazquez
2012: Mike Smith
2013: Mike Smith
2014: John Velazquez
2015: Ryan Moore
2016: Mike Smith
2017: Javier Castellano
2018: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2020: Irad Ortiz Jr.