Brown Earns Seventh Consecutive Belmont Training Title

Chad Brown notched a record-extending seventh consecutive title at the Belmont Park spring/summer meeting with 47 victories, the most ever by a trainer at a Belmont spring/summer meet. Irad Ortiz Jr. was the leading rider with 48 wins, while Michael Dubb led the owners with 16 at the 44-day meet (April 28-July 10).

The previous training record of 44 victories, set by David Jacobson at the 56-day 2013 spring/summer meet, was broken when 3-year-old filly Demandsrespect  graduated at fourth asking in a July 4 maiden special weight over the main track.

"My team should be very proud of themselves and proud of what they did," Brown said of setting the meet record. "Obviously, it's never been done, and they deserve every bit of it."

Brown's successes at the meeting included 12 graded-stakes victories, highlighted by a remarkable Belmont Stakes Racing Festival weekend when he scored four grade 1 victories with Jack Christopher  (Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, G1); Regal Glory  (Longines Just a Game Stakes, G1); Bleecker Street  (New York Stakes, G1); and Tribhuvan  (Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes, G1). On Saturday, the 3-year-old filly McKulick  delivered a sparkling performance to win the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1T), giving Brown his sixth win in that event.

Brown also saw Gerrymander  assert herself in the 3-year-old filly division with a strong win in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) and his fifth consecutive win in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2) with L'Imperator . His other graded winners included Consumer Spending  (Wonder Again Stakes, G2); Search Results  (Ruffian Stakes, G2); Virginia Joy  (Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Stakes, G2); Rougir  (Beaugay Stakes,G3), and Masen  (Poker Stakes, G3).

Brown closed out the meet with a record of 153-47-30-22 and earnings of $5,776,633. He posted a win percentage of 30.72% and finished in-the-money at a 64.71% clip.

"This was a historic meet for me, my team, my clients and, most importantly, the horses, who do all the work," Brown said. "I'm a very fortunate person to be around the horses, staff, and owners. I'm so happy for all of them."

Christophe Clement finished second with 33 wins and Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher was third with 25.

The battle for leading jockey came down to the final day, which Ortiz entered one win behind Dylan Davis. Ortiz evened the score aboard Lady Yellen  in the first race before taking a one-win advantage aboard First to Act  in the fifth race. With the top two riders slated to ride in two more races, Ortiz, Jr. clinched the title, his 19th on the NYRA circuit, with a thrilling finish in the seventh race aboard Queen Bourbon  to post his 48th.

"It feels great," Ortiz said. "Honestly, we've been working so hard since the year started. Hard work, a lot of dedication. We've been out there every day that they ask for me. It feels good when you win a title. We love to win the meet; it's not easy, but thank God we got it done today. Thanks to my agent, Steve Rushing, for doing an amazing job. It was great. Dylan had a great meet also."

Ortiz's meet was one to remember, scoring the second Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) victory of his career atop the Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal . He was aboard for some of Chad Brown's memorable victories as well, guiding Bleecker Street and McKulick to victory as well as Dynamic One , who took the Suburban Stakes (G2).

"What can I say? The Belmont Stakes was great," Ortiz said. "(Saturday) was great, Dynamic One and McKulick. She's such a nice filly. I got on her when she was a 2-year-old and she was very impressive."

Ortiz said he is honored to ride for Brown.

"He broke the record this year, so it's something nobody will forget. It's hard to win that many races," Ortiz said. "He's a great trainer and he knows what he's doing with his horses. I'm happy for him and I'm happy he gave me the opportunity to ride those kinds of horses."

Ortiz closed the meet with a record of 174-48-32-20 and purse earnings of $5,149,496. He had a 27.59 winning percentage and in the money in 57.47% of his starts.