Jose Ortiz
Record at Keeneland
Career Firsts
Starters in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Year |
Horse |
Finish |
---|---|---|
2020 |
Finnick the Fierce |
7th |
2019 |
Win Win Win |
2nd |
2018 |
Good Magic |
Won |
2017 |
Tapwrit |
5th |
At Keeneland
First win came during the 2016 Fall Meet. Had ridden at Keeneland only eight times prior to then. Won a total of 10 races during the season.
First stakes win was the 2017 Madison (G1) on Paulassilverlining. Won the 2020 Madison during the five-day Summer Meet on Guarana.
Other major stakes wins are the Toyota Blue Grass (G2) (Good Magic, 2018), the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) (Maxfield, 2022; Locked, 2023), the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) (Up to the Mark, 2023) and the Jenny Wiley (G1) (Regal Glory, 2022).
Career
Triple Crown wins (2): 2017 Belmont on Tapwrit; 2022 Preakness on Early Voting.
Breeders’ Cup wins (4): 2016 Juvenile Turf on Oscar Performance; 2017 Juvenile on Good Magic; 2019 Juvenile Turf on Structor; 2021 Sprint on Aloha West and Juvenile Fillies Turf on Pizza Bianca.
Received the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey for 2017.
North American career earnings exceed $237 million with 2,853 wins through Nov. 28, 2023.
Recorded 2,000th career win June 11, 2020, at Belmont Park aboard Creed in the fourth race.
Won his 1,000th race July 28, 2016, aboard Moonlight Song in the John Morrissey Stakes at Saratoga.
On the first seven races at Aqueduct on Jan. 20, 2013, he won three races and his brother Irad won four races.
Click here for his Equibase career record.
Background
Jose and his year-older brother and frequent riding rival, Irad Ortiz Jr., are from Puerto Rico, where they graduated from the Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school. Their grandfather and an uncle also were jockeys.
Irad Ortiz moved to New York in 2011, and Jose began riding at Parx a year later. Jose soon relocated to New York and won with his first mount, Corofin, in March 2012 at Aqueduct. Today the brothers are among the most successful riders in Thoroughbred racing.
In 2016, Irad told Jeff Lowe of “America’s Best Racing” that he always competed against Irad, whether in baseball, basketball or horse racing. “That’s just what we do,” he said. “We’ve always competed, trying to beat each other. It’s still fun. We’re still very close. We share the same corner in the jockey’s room in New York and when we get done racing, he usually stops by my house, just about every day.”