SARATOGA SPRINGS- No matter how hard current world events have tried to drain the hype surrounding this year’s season of racing, Saratoga struck back with lots of exciting races and powerful displays this past week.
If you were watching the races last Thursday, you’d probably be quite familiar with the name Irad Ortiz, Jr. Ortiz, Jr. had a tremendous day at the races winning with five out of eight mounts on the days ten race card. While no stranger to success at Saratoga, having been a two-time leading rider in both 2015 and 2018, these wins helped propel him to second place in the jockey standings. Currently, his brother Jose Ortiz sits ahead of him at 16 first place finishes with Ortiz, Jr at 14 at the start of Week 3 of racing.
When asked about his strong performance, Ortiz, Jr. beamed “When you have the right horses, they make you look good…Days like this are great. To win five races in one day at any track is so special. You work so hard in this business and on days like this all that hard work pays off.”
Strangely enough, around a year ago on July 31, 2019, he also had a strong day, winning five out of seven races for the day. While not the most races won on single card at Saratoga, it comes awfully close to Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez’s six wins in 2012 and Hall of Famer John Velazquez’s six in 2001.
To follow up the strong performances throughout the week, in Saturday’s Grade 2 race, Starship Jubilee looked strong as she triumphed in the thirty-second running of the Ballston Spa Stakes. Hall of Famer jockey Javier Castellano rode Starship Jubilee and after an awkward start out of the gate managed to beat out Call Me Love by Neck and Sistercharlie by a length and a quarter. Sistercharlie was favored to win being the 2018 Champion Female Turf Horse, but Starship Jubilee showed that even with age, she hasn’t lost a step. Castellano was very proud of the horse saying, “The way the race developed was phenomenal… She’s such a great horse; to beat Sistercharlie, she’s one of the best fillies in the country…I think we were in the right time and the right place to beat her today. I give all the credit to my horse”
With the strong performances of last week, fans are excited to see what this upcoming week will bring. The Coronation Cup is on Friday slated as the nineth race on Friday’s ten-race card. On Saturday there are three Grade 1 races and one Grade 2 race scheduled: the GI Whitney (BC), the GI Personal Ensign (BC), the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial presented by Runhappy, and the G2 Bowling Green.
Be sure not to miss out on any of the racing this season by either streaming the race online, listening in through radio, or catching a live TV Broadcast. For the full racing schedule and more information on broadcast times, check out the NYRA website at nyra.com/saratoga. Updated daily, you can find all the race details and stats to stay in the know for this unique season at Saratoga.
