Ortiz Wins 3,000th Race, Hit With Five-Day Suspension

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. enjoyed a rollercoaster ride Feb. 24 as the Eclipse Award-winning rider registered a milestone 3,000th victory and also received a five-day suspension for a riding infraction the previous day.

Ortiz reached the 3,000 mark, which does not include 95 wins in his native Puerto Rico, when he rode Order and Law  to victory in the fourth race at Gulfstream Park.

"It's been a long way and a lot of hard work," Ortiz said. "I have to thank all the owners and trainers for supporting me. Without them, it wouldn't be possible. I've had help from all of them. My agent, Steve Rushing, has been great. He's out there every day for me."

According to Rushing, Ortiz will not appeal his suspension, which will begin March 2. Ortiz will be able to ride in stakes on March 5 at Gulfstream Park, extending the five-day ban to the March 9 card.

The suspension was handed down due to Ortiz's ride in the sixth race Wednesday when Princess Cupid drifted out under left-handed urging and interfered with Muguruza , who was originally third. Princess Cupid, who crossed the wire first by a length under Ortiz, was placed third as Arrow Shape  was declared the winner and Muguruza was moved up to second.

Ortiz, a three-time Eclipse Award winner who has led North America in wins for five straight years, received a 30-calendar day suspension for careless riding Dec. 5 from New York stewards after he was involved in incidents in back-to-back days. In one of them, jockey Omar Hernandez Moreno was unseated when Ortiz's mount drifted in. The other involved his winning ride aboard Mo Donegal  in the Dec. 4 Remsen Stakes (G2) which did not result in a disqualification.

Since then, he won both the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1) with Life Is Good  and the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat (G1T) with Colonel Liam , races with a combined value of a little less than $4 million.