SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jose Ortiz was the leading rider on the New York Racing Association circuit three times during the 13 years he was based here and that didn’t include 2017, the year he won the Eclipse Award as North America’s champion jockey.
Two years ago, Ortiz made the move to Kentucky – and in the winter Louisiana – and things are only getting better.
Joining forces with trainers such as Cherie DeVaux and Steve Asmussen, Ortiz this year has won the Kentucky Derby aboard Golden Tempo for DeVaux and the Dubai World Cup for Asmussen aboard Magnitude. Not to mention, Ortiz also won his first Kentucky Oaks aboard Always a Runner, a horse trained by Chad Brown for whom he rode regularly when he was in New York.
The victory in the Derby allowed Ortiz to complete his own personal Triple Crown. He won the Preakness in 2022 with Early Voting and the Belmont in 2017 with Tapwrit. Ortiz said he celebrated his Derby victory for about a week but is now only looking forward.
“I’m one of those people that yesterday is yesterday and we got to move forward because I have to ride for other people and I have commitments that I have to go out and do my best,” Ortiz said Wednesday before the start of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. “The Derby was great, it will always be a great memory, but as of now I’m just thinking the Belmont.”
In the Derby, Ortiz rallied Golden Tempo from last to outfinish Renegade, ridden by Jose’s brother Irad Ortiz Jr., and win by a neck. Golden Tempo took advantage of a hot early pace, a scenario most people don’t see happening in the Belmont.
“I think this race is a little bit more complicated. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of speed on paper,” Ortiz said. “The mile and a quarter could help me out a little bit but I don’t see as much speed early on.”
However, Ortiz and DeVaux have both noted that Golden Tempo has changed mentally and physically since his races at Fair Grounds, where he raced four times, including a third-place finish in the Louisiana Derby.
“He was in great position turning for home and he started wandering a little bit, spotty,” Ortiz said of the Louisiana Derby. “They were drifting in front of him and he re-rallied. He was [moving] forward, so we were very happy with that.”
Ortiz is certainly happy with how his career has taken off since he moved from New York. He won the Fair Grounds riding title with 93 victories and is again competing with his brother for top honors at Churchill Downs.
“I think the transition to Kentucky has been great for me business-wise but I think the move to Louisiana has been even better,” Ortiz said. “Golden Tempo trained there, Magnitude trained there. I’ve been riding for those two barns regularly. They have very nice horses.”
Ortiz is set to ride a lot of very nice horses during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, including on Friday: Always a Runner in the Grade 1 Acorn, Nitrogen in the Grade 1 Phipps, and Kathynmarissa in the Grade 1 New York. On Saturday, in addition to Golden Tempo, he rides Journalism in the Metropolitan Handicap and Make Me King in the Grade 1 Manhattan.