Irad Ortiz Jr. Making Championship Meet Debut Thursday
At 0h03, on January 6, 2022 • By GULFSTREAM
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Gulfstream Park’s record-setting leading rider the past three years, is entered to make his 2021-2022 Championship Meet debut Thursday.
Ortiz is named in six of 10 races starting with Macedonian in Race 2 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who leads the Championship Meet with 21 wins through the first 23 days including Unsociable ($6.80) and Novo Sol ($23.80) Wednesday. Ortiz also has mounts in nine of Friday’s 10 races.
Last winter, Ortiz set a Championship Meet record with 140 wins, breaking the mark of 137 set by Luis Saez in 2017-2018. Ortiz reached the milestone by riding Known Agenda to victory in the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa.
Only Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who did it a record five times between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016, has won as many as four consecutive Championship Meet titles. Ortiz spotted his competition a sizeable head start while serving a 30-day suspension for careless riding aboard Gran Casique Dec. 3 at Aqueduct.
Ortiz has not ridden since notching three victories on the Dec. 5 Clasico Internacional del Caribe program at Camarero Racetrack in Puerto Rico. He also finished second in the Copa Invitacional de Importados (G1) with Luna Fortis.
Saez, Gulfstream’s leading rider in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, led the Championship Meet with 40 wins, 145 mounts and more than $1.4 million in purse earnings through Wednesday’s card.
