Jose L. Ortiz

Jose Ortiz is a Puerto Rican jockey who currently rides on the New York circuit 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.

Ortiz 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 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.

In 2022, Ortiz continued to build a career worthy of eventual consideration for the Racing Hall of Fame. He tallied significant stakes wins with Letruska, Simplification, Obligatory, Regal Glory, and Jack Christopher, and he earned his second win in a Triple Crown race aboard Early Voting in the Preakness Stakes.