Ortiz Jr. Earns Third Eclipse for Outstanding Jockey

Irad Ortiz Jr. led the nation in wins and earnings for the third straight year in 2020 and took home his third consecutive Eclipse Award Jan. 28.

Only Jerry Bailey, Ramon Dominguez, and Javier Castellano have achieved this honor in three or more consecutive years since the Eclipse Awards began in 1971.

In a season fraught with pandemic-related cancellations and delays, 28-year-old Ortiz rode just 1,266 mounts, the fewest since his apprentice season in 2011. He came nowhere near his record-setting 2019, when he became the first jockey to surpass the $30 million mark with earnings of $34,109,019. Still, he ended 2020 with 300 wins and earnings of $21,050,726, more than $2.8 million ahead of Joel Rosario, the runner-up by earnings and a fellow finalist along with John Velazquez.

Starting his year with a victory aboard Mucho Gusto in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1), Ortiz won 27 graded stakes, seven of them grade 1 events. Top mounts included Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Whitmore and Whitney Stakes (G1) winner Improbable .

"Last year we had a good year, but there were a lot of things going on, honestly," the native of Puerto Rico said. "I lost my grandfather; 2020 was sad for everyone. …Hopefully, we can start the New Year and forget everything that was bad last year and get going with a regular life."