Ortiz, Jimenez, Medina escape injury in spills

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jose Ortiz left the paddock aboard a mare named Zeven with a smile on his face prior to the ninth race Monday. And for good reason: Moments earlier, Ortiz had escaped injury despite having been thrown hard to the track when his mount, Double Cabernet, broke down at the top of the stretch.

“I am okay, thank God,” Ortiz said.

Two other jockeys, Carlos Jimenez and apprentice Aby Medina, also were dislodged from their mounts in the incident, and they, too, were uninjured.

Double Cabernet, trained by Peter Walder, had to be euthanized.

Ortiz, 24, is riding his first full Gulfstream meet. He will be in attendance at the Eclipse Awards dinner here next Thursday night (Jan. 25) as a finalist for outstanding jockey of 2017 after leading all riders in mount earnings with more than $27 million.

Geroux to become U.S. citizen

Florent Geroux will ride heavily favored Gun Runner in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup here Jan. 27, and he will become a naturalized U.S. citizen the previous day in a ceremony in Chicago. Geroux’s father, Dominique, recently died in their native France.

Geroux will be all over the map next week. He will be active at his main winter base of Fair Grounds on Thursday; in Chicago on Friday; here Saturday; then off to Houston for a big stakes day Sunday at Sam Houston.