Irad Ortiz Jr. sets new single-season jockey earnings record

Buoyed by his three Breeders’ Cup wins at Keeneland and capped off by a three-win Sunday - including a stakes sweep - at Aqueduct, Irad Ortiz Jr. established a new single-year North American record for earnings by a jockey.

Through Sunday, Ortiz’s mounts have earned $34,628,316, eclipsing his mark of $34,109,019 set in 2019.

Ortiz won three Breeders’ Cup races - Friday’s $2 million Juvenile aboard Forte, Saturday’s $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint on Goodnight Olive, and the $2 million Sprint on Elite Power. On Sunday, back at Aqueduct, Ortiz won the Grade 3 Nashua aboard Champions Dream and the listed Tempted on Good Sam.

In 2022, Ortiz has won 74 stakes races and is just two behind Garret Gomez’s single year North American record of 76 set in 2007. Ortiz has won 48 graded stakes - 20 Grade 1s. Jerry Bailey owns the single-year record for graded stakes with 55 set in 2003. Bailey won 26 Grade 1 stakes that year.

According to his agent, Steve Rushing, Ortiz plans to ride at Aqueduct for the next month, save the possibility of going to Del Mar for the final weekend of November if needed. He will be at Aqueduct for the Dec. 3 card that features four graded stakes topped by the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.

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Following the Dec. 4 Aqueduct card, Ortiz is expected to head to Gulfstream Park for the winter. Gulfstream runs five graded stakes on Dec. 31.

Ortiz, a three-time Eclipse Award winner (2018-20) leads all riders in wins in 2022 with 289, 50 more than the second-place rider.

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