With three weeks remaining in the year, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has set a new single season record for earnings at more than $39.4 million through Dec. 7. Ortiz, Jr. eclipsed the previous mark of $39.1 million he set in 2023. With several more graded stakes on the calendar, Ortiz Jr. could hit $40 million in earnings by the end of 2025. He currently leads Flavien Prat by over $332,000 in North American earnings among all jockeys for 2025.

In Equibase rankings for equine divisions, three race results at Aqueduct Dec. 6 made an impact. The final running of the Cigar Mile Handicap contested at the Big A did not disappoint. Bishops Bay narrowly edged past game longshot Mika in the final strides to win by a neck for trainer Brad Cox with Flavien Prat aboard. Bishops Bay earned the highest winning Equibase Speed Figure in North America last week with a 114. This was the Uncle Mo horse’s fourth graded stakes victory and sixth win overall for the year, and he rocketed up the Equibase leaderboard into 69^th in the overall standings and 30^th in the 4-year-old and up male division with $743,600 in 2025 earnings. Notably, Bishops Bay is now 3-for-3 over the Aqueduct dirt, 4-for-4 at a mile and 6-for-6 with Prat aboard.

Races on the road to next spring’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Longines Kentucky Oaks Dec. 6 at Aqueduct helped reshape the 2025 juvenile standings. Paladin, a 2-year-old colt by Gun Runner, emerged as the latest name on the Kentucky Derby trail, earning 10 points with a two-length victory in the Remsen Stakes for trainer Chad Brown with Prat in the irons. Paladin’s Remsen effort was made even more noteworthy by the fact that he lost his front right shoe during the race. Now with $184,250 in earnings, Paladin climbed the leaderboard to 37^th in the 2-year-old male division.

The Demoiselle Stakes, one of only two Kentucky Oaks prep races contested at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the Oaks itself, was won by Zany, a 2-year-old daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. The Todd Pletcher trainee delivered a commanding performance, drawing away with authority to win by 8 ½ lengths and earning a 96 Equibase Speed Figure under red-hot Irad Ortiz Jr. After earning 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Zany climbed into the top 100 in her division and now sits 49^th among juvenile fillies with $161,500 in earnings.

Brad Cox and Chad Brown, who sit first and second in the 2025 trainer standings, both had outstanding weeks. Cox posted four wins from eight starters and led all trainers with $509,427 in earnings, while Brown matched that efficiency with five wins from eight starts and $401,280 in earnings. The Cox stable now leads Brown by more than $5 million in 2025 North American earnings and appears to have secured the top spot for the year.

North American leaders lists for horses, jockeys, trainers and owners are available on equibase.com and you can filter the data to view by a wide variety of categories including age, sex, surface and race type.