Chad Brown won his sixth consecutive New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) year-end training title with 91 wins while Jose Ortiz compiled his second riding crown with 142 victories as racing in 2020 was capped with the conclusion of the Aqueduct card on Dec. 31.
Klaravich Stables was the runaway winner as top owner, racking up 48 wins, 14 more than the next-closest competitor, Repole Stable, to finish as the leading owner for the second straight year at NYRA tracks, which encompasses Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack.
Ortiz posted a record of 142-139-95 in 707 mounts to win his first year-end title since 2016. His 2020 saw him win his 2,000th career race while posting $9.62 million in earnings with a 20.08% winning percentage on the NYRA circuit.
“I'm pretty happy about it and I'm very proud of the work we put into it,” Ortiz said. “This is why you work this hard. It was a tough year. We couldn't work horses in the morning like we normally could, but we made it through and I'm just happy we're all healthy coming out of this.”
Brown compiled a 91-81-83 record with 411 starters to become the first NYRA trainer to record six straight training titles since Gasper Moschera from 1993-98. He won two individual meets, leading the Belmont spring/summer with 23 wins and the Belmont fall with 22 victories. He ended 2020 ahead of Todd Pletcher, whose 81 wins were the second-most among conditioners.
The four-time reigning Eclipse Award Champion trainer racked up earnings of more than $7.4 million while winning more than 22% of the time. Brown's starters finished on the board at a 62.04% clip.
Headed by Seth Klarman, Klaravich Stables won at least a share of four of the five individual NYRA individual meets in 2020. Klaravich won the Belmont fall and spring/summer outright, as well as Saratoga, while tying Repole Stable for the recently concluded Aqueduct fall meet.
In total, Klaravich sent out 171 starters, going 48-30-39, winning at a 28.07% clip, while racking up earnings of $3.23 million in the process. Repole Stable's stellar 34 wins was second-most on the circuit.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
