Jose Ortiz

The 19-day Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet, which ran from Mar. 30 to Apr. 30, closed out with jockey Manny Franco and trainer Linda Rice repeat as the leaders in their respective divisions after taking the titles at this year's Aqueduct winter meet. Franco secured his second Big A spring meet riding title with 37 wins while Rice won her fourth Aqueduct spring meet training title with 17 wins. Franco, a 28-year-old native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, earned the eighth riding title of his career. "I'm very grateful for the help...

Recently retired Daily Racing Form columnist Jay Privman and Getty Images photographer Rob Carr will be among the honorees Preakness week at the annual Alibi Breakfast for their outstanding coverage of the 2022 GI Preakness S. The popular and historic breakfast--which dates back to the 1930s--will be held Thursday, May 18 at Pimlico Race Course. Privman, an Eclipse Award winner, will be given the David F. Woods Award for his story on Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He had previously been honored with the same award in 2002...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. New York Track: Aqueduct Date: 04/13/2023 Licensee: Dylan Davis, jockey...

1st-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 4-1, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.29, fm, 1 1/4 lengths. SPANSIVE (f, 3, Karakontie {Jpn}--Fleur de Cerise, by Bernardini), off as the 2-1 favorite from a morning line of 6-1, was given a well-judged ride from the front by Jose Ortiz and had something left late to graduate nicely on debut in the Curlin Florida Derby day lid-lifter. Nicely into stride and asked for just enough speed to make the lead, the dark bay took them through an opening quarter in a modest :25.27 and controlled things through...

6th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 2-5, 3yo, f, 1m 70y (AWT) (off turf), 1:39.36, ft, 4 lengths. LADY BETH (f, 3, Hard Spun--Boreale {SP-Can, MSP-USA, $135,779}, by Makfi {GB}), 3-1 for her debut in this rained-off contest, kept pressure on the pace, sitting just off post-time favorite Typey (Accelerate) as the opening fractions went off in :24.46 and :47.90. Kept wide off the rail throughout, she tracked the leader around the far turn before moving on even terms past the quarter pole. Given her head under a hand ride, Lady Beth drew...

Bat Flip (Good Magic) was sent off at odds of 23-5 to build upon a wire-to-wire maiden victory going two turns over the Aqueduct turf course Oct. 23, but showed a bit of a new dimension when forced to stalk the pace in Saturday's Central Park S. at the Big A. The $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad proved equal to the task in becoming a fifth stakes winner and first on the grass for his freshman sire (by Curlin). Looking intent on making the running yet again from his low draw,...

Bobby Flay has always been content to settle for a bit of slow cooking when it comes to his Thoroughbred breeding program, but this particular project probably took a little longer than even the patient chef and restaurateur expected. Flay purchased the yearling filly White Hot (Ire) for 1,250,000 guineas at the 2014 Tattersalls October sale on the advice of his late bloodstock agent James Delahooke. Eight years later, he figures to be paid back, with interest, when her Breeders' Cup-winning daughter Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aug}) sells with Elite...

Be Your Best made the most of a picture-perfect trip when debuted over this same track and distance July 31, sitting off the pace and powering home late to score by 3 1/4 lengths en route to a 'TDN Rising Star' nod. Bumped up to stakes company in just her second start, Be Your Best broke as the 6-5 choice and sat closer to the frontrunners this time, racing wide into the first turn in pursuit from third. Settled into a good stride against the hedge up the backstretch, she...

Poppy Flower took three tries to break her maiden at Belmont last Spring before making the jump into stakes company, posting on-the-board efforts in Saratoga's Bolton Landing S. behind future GISW Chi Town Lady (Verrazano) and the Ainsworth S. in the fall before ending her year with a fifth in the GIII Futurity S. for Wesley Ward. After a seven-month layoff, Poppy Flower returned for new trainer Bill Mott to capture the Stormy Blues S. at Laurel June 19 and check in just a half-length short behind Empress Tigress in...

Flavien Prat is a world-class jockey, a future Hall of Famer who dominated the Southern California circuit before heading east. Yet, he entered the week tied for fourth-place in the Saratoga jockey standings, 15 wins behind the leader, Irad Ortiz, Jr. Tyler Gaffalione is the top jockey in Kentucky and is coming off a meet at Churchill Downs where he was leading rider and had 29 more wins than the runner-up. He began the week in ninth-place in the Saratoga standings. That's no reflection on Prat or Gaffalione. What it...

Holiday weekends are often synonymous with exciting race cards and this Fourth of July weekend is no exception with a dozen graded events on tap Saturday that include some of racing's best. The highlight of the day's action is the return of 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who is making his first start back since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26 in Belmont's GII John A. Nerud S. A dominant winner of last year's GII Kelso H. and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile...

The story is a familiar one. Seth Klarman, Chad Brown and Jose Ortiz teaming up for a win with a lightly-raced colt in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. In 2017, the duo entered the Classic with a fresh horse, and played the spoiler when Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) upended Classic Empire to take the GI Preakness S. Fast forward to 2022, history repeated itself with the same connections snagging Pimlico's marquee race with Early Voting (Gun Runner). The colt's victory also provided a well-deserved birthday gift for his...