Harness: Top jockey Ortiz enjoys his time with a Standardbred claimer

Standing out in the green grass on 10 acres in Kentucky is a former claiming horse that has found himself in a world far removed from the one he knew for his whole life.

His owner, Jose Ortiz, has made a career out of riding Thoroughbred champions, chasing wins and titles, setting records, and traveling the world. Yet one of the horses he comes home to every day, the one he rides out on the trails with his family, isn't a Thoroughbred, and he wasn't even a champion on the track.

He's a Standardbred - a $7,500 claiming pacer, to be exact.

Virgin Honor is his name and he's now 7 years old. He's the son of Always A Virgin and the Cheyenne Rei mare Do Me Honor. His career started out in a circuit between Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. At the end of his 3-year-old meet, he traveled east to Saratoga under the care of trainer Jaymes Mcassey.

From November 2022 to March 2024, Virgin Honor raced in the conditions at Saratoga, ultimately moving to the claiming pace towards the latter end of that time period. After being claimed out of the $12,500 claimer, Mcassey claimed him back, only this time it was for new owners Joe Sharp and Taylor Ortiz.

Sharp is a prominent Thoroughbred trainer with over 1,200 career wins and nearly $66 million earned in purses. Taylor Ortiz, the wife of Jose, is a thoroughbred owner, as well as an exercise rider who spends her summers at the Saratoga flat track as an exercise rider for Sharp.

One day, the idea to venture into "the other side of racing", both literally and figuratively when it comes to Saratoga Springs, came up, and after some discussion that idea came to fruition. Sharp chose Mcassey as his trainer, and the next step was finding a horse to claim or buy, in which Mcassey chose Virgin Honor, a horse he was familiar with given their past, and a horse he was confident would be a great introduction into harness racing for the Thoroughbred connections.

The summer meet at the Saratoga flats extends from about the end of April, when horses start moving in, to mid-October, when horses start shipping out. That exact time frame was when the team of Mcassey, Sharp, and Ortiz raced Virgin Honor. At the end of that meet in 2024, the gelding was claimed from a $7,500 claimer and moved to new connections.

Fast forward to June 22, 2025, and Virgin Honor was back in a $7,500 claimer. The summer meet at Saratoga was back in full swing and so Mcassey entered the claim and Virgin Honor was back in his barn for Sharp and Ortiz.

In August of 2025, Virgin Honor was caught in the middle of a series of claims, back and forth. From August 9th through October 19th, he transferred between stables seven times. It wasn't until May of this year that Mcassey claimed him back for the same connections.

"The first summer he raced and by the end of the Saratoga meet someone else claimed him away from us. And we were like, 'okay, you know, that was great, that was fun.' We all had a little fun those few months and when we came back the next year, we told Jaymes to get things going and get another one and it just happened that we claimed Virgin Honor back again," Taylor Ortiz said. "We claimed another horse that summer and then Virgin got claimed away from us again."

By some twist of fate, their first harness horse was the one that kept on coming back to them. On the track, Ortiz describes Virgin Honor as a sweet, little horse with a little mighty heart.

"He was the first horse that, I think, Joe [Sharp] went over and drove. Well, both of us - Jose and I, too - have all been over there and driven horses in the morning for Jaymes – jogging them. It's just been super fun," Ortiz added. "He's not a very big horse as far as Standardbreds are concerned, but that obviously isn't the gauge of his heart because he tried so hard every time."

His size is certainly one of his features that stands out the most, as that is the way his connections and his caretaker, Emily Gingrich, describe him first.

"The biggest reason that Virgin always stood out in the barn was because of his size," caretaker Gingrich said. 'Virgin was always the smallest horse in the stable, and also the fluffiest when winter came. He was a very shy horse, but also super-loving. He would turn away from you in the stall if he didn't like you but would hang his head over the gate and let you scratch behind his ears if he did like you.

"Virgin is the hugest example of 'the size of the horse doesn't matter, the size of the heart does.' He never failed to give it his all on the racetrack. Two of his strides were equivalent to one stride of every other horse he raced against. It never mattered to him; he knew that he had to work twice as hard, and that's just what he did. Every single time he stepped foot on the racetrack. With Virgin, at the end of the day, he stood out in our barn not because of the caliber of horse he was, but because of the effort he put in for Jaymes' stable," Gingrich added.

On many mornings throughout the summer for the past few years, the Ortiz family and Sharp could be found in that Mcassey stable and even out on the track, jogging a few of Mcassey's horses. Sharp has even had the opportunity to train horses as well, and his son was in the barn this summer working.

"We've been able to take our kids out and jog some of the horses. It's just been so much fun and learning something new," Ortiz said.

Despite growing up in Thoroughbred racing and having a lifetime worth of experience herself - in addition to her husband being Jose Ortiz – with over 3,700 wins and nearly $340 million in purse earnings – the experience she has had on the harness side has shown the true divide between the two worlds as there are many differences between the two.

After three years in Standardbred ownership, she believes she is still learning something new, but she loves all the same things that Thoroughbred racing has to offer - the excitement, the competition, and most importantly, the horses.

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As an exercise rider, Ortiz's mornings are spent going out atop numerous horses for daily breezes and exercises. While many harness drivers may refuse to switch disciplines from the race bike to the saddle, Ortiz has enjoyed learning a new style of connecting with a horse.

"Being attached to them in the back and with the wheels, it feels different," Taylor Ortiz explained. "I still feel in control with the lines and the steering, but it's a different balance than riding on top of the horse. You can feel the gait as they're pulling you, but it's totally different. I guess it's like sitting in car versus riding a bicycle, there's different balances."

As far as the on-the-back versus in-the-cart debate, Virgin Honor has now experienced both disciplines as Jose Ortiz has broke him to ride.

Virgin Honor now lives on a 10-acre field in Kentucky at the Ortiz's farm. He lives out on the fields with four equine friends and four sheep. He just hangs out, besides learning his new trade of riding.

"There was no problem [in training], just a bit of a learning curve in figuring out what we were trying to tell him to do as far as go forward," said Taylor. 'His commands have always been through long lines from behind him, so trying to get him to go forward took a minute. But, it didn't take long and he took to it like it was nothing. That seems to be a different side to racing as the Standardbred brains seem to be very different."

Now that he's basically a pro, Virgin Honor is Jose's horse to ride out on the trails as Taylor has her own horse and their kids have their ponies.

While Virgin Honor's racing future is uncertain for the time being - whether he'll remain a pasture and riding pet or come back for another summer of racing - Ortiz is sure they will be back themselves for another summer of harness horse ownership.

"Joe and I really enjoy the excitement of going over there. Claiming Thoroughbreds and racing them is exciting, too, but this is something else to do a Saturday evening and something else to watch since we're used to the Thoroughbreds. It has been fun and being able to race every week - we don't do that in Thoroughbreds - we have action every week.

"We've had others over the last few years that either got claimed back or sold in other ways, and Virgin was the one who always come back. I don't think we'll find another one like him, but maybe we'll get lucky."

Virgin Honor is one strike of proof that the price tag does not matter, nor the condition or any of the other stereotypical views of racing and their horses. A $7,500 claiming pacer became the bridge between the Thoroughbred and harness racing worlds, especially between some of the top Thoroughbred connections in the world.

"I think it's something very important for the growth of both industries, but more importantly ours," said trainer Jaymes Mcassey. 'Just the idea of one of top jockeys in the world and top trainers in their industry taking interest and investing in our game means a lot. Then, to decide to retire a Standardbred and decide to give him a forever home is really cool. There's just so many positives that come out of it and to intertwine the two worlds is awesome."

"I have learned that there truly is no bridge between Thoroughbred and harness racing," caretaker Gingrich added. "To me, that is the coolest thing I've gotten to experience. At the end of the day, we are all people with the same objective - to win races, to keep our horses happy and healthy, and to have our horses, jockeys and drivers come off of the track safe and sound. The Thoroughbred industry always seemed too uppity compared to harness racing. After meeting the Sharp and Ortiz families, I couldn't have been more wrong by assuming that. They are all great people who never make you feel like you're less than them."

More often than not, a $7,500 claimer is overlooked. That's one of the bottom-rung classes at Saratoga. But it was a $7,500 claimer - a small in stature, but powerhouse on the track horse - that paved the way for that bridge. And a $7,500 claimer now lives the life of luxury out on a 10-acre farm of green grass with retired Thoroughbreds, ponies, and sheep. His races - albeit a successful career with 30 wins and $200,000 earned in the bottom class - have not defined his life nor his value, but his story and his personality have defined the Ortiz family and Sharp's views and love of the other side of racing.