It was only a matter of time before the Saratoga Race Course star got his title.
Jose Ortiz was crowned as the 2016 Saratoga Race Course meet champion on Monday after the 40 day meet ended.
With the championship in the bag going into the final weekend of the meet, he rode nine races on Monday and then called it a day before going to celebrate his first Saratoga Championship.
“It’s amazing,” the 22-year-old jockey said Monday. “Saratoga is the best meet in America and it feels great to win it.”
He had said that his goal going into this season was to pass his win total of 38 from 2015. He did much more than that, racking up an impressive 65 wins. This is only three wins shy of tying the Saratoga record of 68, set by Ramon Dominguez in 2012.
Unfortunately, Dominguez had to unexpectedly retire in 2013 due to injuries suffered in a spill at Aqueduct, but was inducted into the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame this year, which is located across from the Saratoga Race Course in downtown Saratoga Springs.
Ortiz made 296 mounts over the meet, averaging 7.4 starts per day. This was second to only his brother and defending champion Irad Ortiz Jr., who had 57 wins in 314 mounts, and finishing second in the jockey standings. Irad had 51 second and 50 thirds, leading the meet in both of those categories. Jose Ortiz had 35 second and 35 thirds.
Javier Castellano, the 2013 and 2014 champion, finished third in the standings with 51 wins. Five champion John Velazquez was fourth with 44 wins on the season.
This is Ortiz’s second track championship of the calendar year, also winning at Belmont, racking up 78 wins there over the spring and early summer.
He had a five-win day on Saturday, and had three days with four wins during the meet. He waited until the final day of the meet to win a Grade 1 stakes race, taking the victory in the Hopeful Stakes on board Practical Joke for Chad Brown, who won the 2016 Trainer’s Championship and set a meet record with 40 wins over the course of the summer at The Spa. The owner’s championship went to Michael Dubb, who had 13 wins in 63 starts. Ortiz also won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 30 with Laoban.
He will look to make it two straight championships in 2017, and would be the first to do so since Javier Castellano in 2013-2014.
