Ortiz Jr. Tops Riders in North American Earnings, Wins
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Photo: Dave W. Harmon
Irad Ortiz Jr. reacts after guiding Shamrock Rose to a narrow victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs
Considering he finished among the top four riders each year from 2014-17 in both North American earnings and wins, it wouldn't be accurate to call jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.'s 2018 season a breakthrough, but he most certainly found another level.
From 1,616 mounts, Ortiz wound up atop the rider standings in both North American earnings ($27,727,039) and wins (346). Both numbers are career bests for Ortiz, a 26-year-old native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, who began riding in the mainland United States in 2011. It's the second straight year Ortiz has ranked first in wins.
Although Ortiz already owned Breeders' Cup wins, 2018 marked the first time he won multiple races at the World Championships in the same year. He delivered a flawless ride to help Shamrock Rose to a come-from-behind victory in the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs one day after guiding Newspaperofrecord to a win in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T).
Mark Casse, trainer of Shamrock Rose, said Ortiz made a decision early in the race to drop back and save ground, which proved to make all the difference in her passing 13 rivals in the final three furlongs to win by a head.
"Had he stayed out wide … we wouldn't be here right now," Casse said of the narrow victory.
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Ortiz also earned four Breeders' Cup placings in 2018. He rallied Gunnevera to a runner-up finish in the Classic (G1) and earned second-place finishes on World of Trouble in the Turf Sprint (G1T) and Uncle Benny in the Juvenile Turf (G1T), along with a third-place finish on Analyze It in the Mile (G1T). He earned four other grade 1 stakes wins in 2018 on four horses: Diversify in the Whitney Stakes (G1), Robert Bruce in the Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes (G1T), A Raving Beauty in the Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T), and Fourstar Crook in the Flower Bowl Stakes (G1T).
He finished less than a million dollars ahead of his brother, Jose Ortiz, in the earnings standings. Jose Ortiz ranked second at $26.8 million, and the two brothers combined for more than $54.5 million in purses. In 2017, Jose Ortiz ranked first in earnings and earned the outstanding jockey Eclipse Award for the first time.
This year, Irad Ortiz Jr. could well secure his first Eclipse Award, but he will face competition from Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who guided Justify to a Triple Crown sweep. Besides the classics, Smith won 10 other grade 1 races as 13 of his 55 wins (just 246 mounts) in 2018 came at the top level.
Jockey Mike Smith picked up a grade 1 win Dec. 26 when he guided McKinzie to victory in the Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Smith ranked 12th in earnings at nearly $12 million and first in per-start earnings (100-start minimum) at $48,345.
Leading the country in win percentage (100-start minimum) in 2018 was Juan C. Diaz, who won 223 races from 672 starts for a 33% win rate. Diaz rides at Camarero in Puerto Rico.
In 2018 purse earnings, the Ortiz brothers were followed by third-place Javier Castellano at $22.1 million. Ranked second in wins was Louisiana-based Timothy Thornton (286), followed by Luis Quinones (281), who earned riding titles at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.