SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On his cell phone, underneath his alarm, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has three emojis: a trophy, a goat, and prayer hands. It is a daily reminder of the motivating force behind all the work Ortiz does each day – another Eclipse Award.
Though Ortiz has won five Eclipse Awards as North America’s champion jockey – he was unseated last year by Flavien Prat – he wants more.
“That’s the only thing that keeps me hungry,” Ortiz said Monday after training hours at Saratoga. “I love to win this meet, but the only thing that gets me hungry still is the Eclipse Award. That’s the only thing I put on my mind every single day. That’s my motivation.”
Ortiz’s obsession with the Eclipse Award includes his understanding that the whole process – from hearing your name being called, to walking up on stage, to giving your acceptance speech – lasts about five minutes.
“You have to work 365 days a year for those five minutes, but it’s worth it,” Ortiz said. “It’s crazy.”
Success on the biggest stage is key to winning an Eclipse Award. There is no bigger stage than Saratoga, and so far this summer, no one is having more success than Ortiz. Through the first 14 days of the 40-day meet, of which he has ridden 13, Ortiz has won 28 races. Though there are no official records on this, it is believed to be the most wins by a rider through the first 14 days at Saratoga.
Twice, Oritz has ridden 24 winners through 14 days, a number previously put up by John Velazquez (2004) and Luis Saez (2021). In 2012, when Ramon Dominguez set the single-meet record for wins with 68, he had 22 winners through the first 14 days.
Ortiz has ridden multiple winners 11 times here this summer, including a four-win day on July 24 and back-to-back three-win afternoons on July 13 and 14.
“It’s crazy because every year I’ve been coming here, it always feels like I get off to a slow start,” Ortiz said. “We have our winners, but nothing like this year, honestly. It’s been amazing – very, very fun.”
Ortiz, who turns 33 on Aug. 11, leads his brother Jose by eight wins, but he has double the wins of any other rider. Ricardo Santana Jr. is third with 12.
Ortiz won his fifth Saratoga meet title last year with 52 wins, but he admits that Prat had the better meet, as Prat’s 45 wins included setting single-meet records for stakes wins (18) and graded stakes (14). Seven of those were Grade 1s.
“Last year, he had a better meet than we did, to be honest,” Ortiz said.
Nationally, in 2025, Ortiz ranks third in wins with 187 and is second to Prat in stakes wins (42-38) and graded stakes (26-21). Prat leads Ortiz by $1.3 million in earnings.
Ortiz was out Monday morning to work a few horses, most notably White Abarrio, whom he rides in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes. The workout was delayed by 20 minutes when another horse was injured in a workout and the equine ambulance had to come onto the track.
Ortiz brought White Abarrio back to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.’s barn and then back to the track, where he worked him three furlongs in 35.35 seconds in company with Absolute Honor.
White Abarrio, who with Ortiz aboard in 2023 won the Whitney and Breeders’ Cup Classic, will be attempting to bounce back from a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap last time out. Ortiz blamed the performance on the race being run out of the Wilson Chute.
“His style of running, that’s not for him,” Ortiz said. “You’re on the gas all the way. You never give him a chance to take a breather. He likes to get to the backside and have some time to relax. Then when you ask him, he’s ready to go.”
Though there appears to be plenty of speed in the Whitney field, Ortiz said he expects White Abarrio to be close to the lead.
“Hopefully, I’m right there,” Ortiz said. “I’m not looking to be too far back.”
Ortiz is always looking forward – on his way, he hopes, to another Eclipse Award.
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