Jose L. Ortiz

Jose Ortiz is a Puerto Rican jockey who currently rides on the Midwest circuit and has emerged as one of the top riders on the planet, along with his older brother Irad Ortiz Jr. The pair made headlines on January 20, 2013 when they won the first seven races on Aqueduct's card with Jose earning three of the wins. Thirteen years later he edged his brother to win the 2026 Kentucky Derby when he guided Golden Tempo from way off the pace and outfinished Renegade, ridden by Irad, to win an unforgettable edition of the run for the roses.

Jose Ortiz's career ascended quickly once he came to the U.S. He was the regular rider of 2014 Kentucky Derby contender Samraat. Later that year, Ortiz was aboard Upstart for a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and won the Holy Bull Stakes on the colt as they made their way down the Triple Crown trail.

In 2015, Ortiz ranked fourth among all jockeys by purse earnings with $17,324,023 and seventh by victories with 244. He had already eclipse both figures the following year by the time the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Championships rolled around, and he earned his first career Breeders' Cup win when he guided Oscar Performance to victory in the Juvenile Turf.

Ortiz notched his second Breeders' Cup win in 2017, aboard upset victor Good Magic in the Sentient Jet Juvenile.

Ortiz led all North American jockeys in earnings for the second consecutive year in 2017, and earned his first Eclipse Award for a campaign that included a classic win (Tapwrit, Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets) and his aforementioned Breeders’ Cup win on Good Magic. Ortiz’s success was best reflected in upstate New York, where he won the riding title at historic Saratoga Race Course for the second year in a row, topping his older brother Irad Jr. by five wins in 2017.

In 2019 Ortiz made his maiden voyage to the UAE to compete on the Dubai World Cup card, where he rode a pair of winners: Coal Front in the Godolphin Mile and Plus Que Parfait in the UAE Derby. Later that spring, he guided Serengeti Empress to a career-defining victory on May 3 at Churchill Downs when she led from start to finish to win the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks.He picked up his third Breeders' Cup win Nov. 1 when he closed from off the pace under Structor to win the Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America.

Ortiz picked up his fourth Breeders’ Cup win in 2021 when he gave Pizza Bianca a skillful ride to thread through horses in the stretch and win the Juvenile Fillies Turf for owner Bobby Flay and trainer Christophe Clement. One day later, he added another victory with another well-timed ride, guiding Aloha West to a late-closing nose win over Dr. Schivel in the Qatar Racing Sprint.

From 2022 into 2026, Ortiz continued to build a career worthy of eventual consideration for the Racing Hall of Fame. He tallied significant stakes wins with Letruska, Jack Christopher, Locked, Didia, and Nitrogen during this period. Ortiz earned his second win in a Triple Crown race aboard Early Voting in the 2022 Preakness Stakes. He picked up another Breeders’ Cup win with More Than Looks in the 2024 Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf, and a second Kentucky Oaks victory in 2026 aboard Always a Runner. Another career highlight came in early 2026 when Ortiz piloted Magnitude to a front-running  win over international superstar Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline at Meydan Racecourse. He banked his first Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in 2026 aboard Golden Tempo, giving him a win in each of the three U.S. Triple Crown races, a day after winning the 2026 Longines Kentucky Oaks with Always a Runner.

Five weeks after his Kentucky Derby win, Ortiz piloted Golden Tempo to victory in the June 6 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets at Saratoga, notching his second career victory in the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

Ortiz enjoyed a dream season in 2026 when recording several graded stakes win all over the map including at Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and Saratoga just to name a few tracks. One of his top mounts of the season was aboard 5-year-old turf mare Kathynmarissa, who he piloted to several wins including in Saratoga's Grade 1 Dunkin' Diana Stakes. Another was the aforementioned Nitrogen, a standout filly owned by D. J. Stables and trained by Mark Casse. That daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, who Ortiz started riding in late 2024, earned champion 3-year-old filly honors in 2025 and reached a higher level at age 4 in 2026.

Kathynmarissa and Nitrogen both advanced to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup and won their respective races in the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Sprint and Longines Distaff, respectively – boosting Ortiz’s career total to eight.