Jockey Cristian Torres clinched his first Oaklawn riding title when favored Unifying won Friday's ninth race, a $104,000 allowance sprint for 3-year-old fillies, for trainer Riley Mott.
Unifying ($5) was Torres' third victory on the card and 98th at the 2022-2023 meeting that began Dec. 9.
Francisco Arrieta had 83 victories following the ninth race, but only 14 remaining scheduled mounts at the meeting. The triple also helped Torres ($6,015,200) become the first jockey in Oaklawn history to surpass $6 million in purse earnings at a meet. Torres reached the milestone in the 10th race when Frosted Grace finished second in the inaugural $150,000 Lake Ouachita Stakes for older horses at 1 1/16 miles.
“I feel blessed now,” Torres said Saturday morning. “Since I got here three years ago, I looked at the jockey colony and I thought I could be leading rider. It took time, but finally we got it.”
Named on 13 horses Saturday – 68th day of the meeting – Torres was trying to join Hall of Famer Pat Day as the only riders in Oaklawn history to reach 100 victories in a single season. Day won an Oaklawn-record 137 races in 1986 and reached 100 victories in 1990 and 1991.
Torres, on April 29, set a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings ($5,675,541) when Tape to Tape won a $104,000 allowance sprint for older horses. Ricardo Santana Jr. set the previous record ($5,643,023) in 2021. In addition to Unifying, Torres won Friday's fifth race aboard favored Aux Arcs ($5) for trainer Ernie Witt II and the sixth race aboard favored Albizu ($4.20) for trainer Robertino Diodoro and owner Jerry Caroom of Hot Springs. Torres is Diodoro's go-to rider.
“Very bright future,” Diodoro said Saturday morning. “We're not talking about a veteran. If a veteran did this, this is great. But we're not talking about a veteran. We're talking about a 25-year-old. He hasn't been riding for that long. Got all the tools to keep moving up the ladder.”
Torres' career has been ascending since hiring retired-trainer-turned agent Cody Autrey last summer. Torres captured his first career riding title in December at Remington Park and said his “original goal” for the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting was 60 victories, noting David Cabrera and Arrieta shared the 2021-2022 title with 62 victories. Torres reached 60 victories March 16 – Day 43 – and continued to pile up victories and purse earnings. In addition to victories and purse earnings, Torres entered Saturday with meet highs for mounts (476) and stakes victories (six).
“It surpassed more than what I thought,” Torres said. “I'm just going to be honest with you. As I've said before, we were hoping for a good meet. Man, we've been blessed. It's just been a great, great, great meet. I have no words to describe about how I feel because it's been an unbelievable meet.”
A native of Puerto Rico, Torres made his Oaklawn debut in 2021, riding 22 winners, and won 19 races during an injury-shortened 2021-2022 meeting.
Torres recorded her first career victory April 21, 2019, at Gulfstream Park and entered Friday with 517 overall, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. Torres will be based at Churchill Downs for the first time this spring and summer.
Diodoro, with Albizu's victory, became just the third trainer in Oaklawn history to reach 60 in a single season, following the late Cole Norman and Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Diodoro entered Saturday with a 60-54 cushion over Asmussen in the race for leading trainer. Diodoro was seeking his second Oaklawn trainer's title after topping the standings in 2020.
“It's been a good meet,” Diodoro said. “Like I've said, it's a team effort, with the help, assistant and owners. Got a good group of owners.”
Heath and Sheena Campbell of Benton, Ark., entered the final day of the meeting with a 17-16 lead over Caroom in the chase for leading owner. The Campbells had four horses entered Saturday; Caroom had one horse entered. Both owners were seeking their first Oaklawn title. Ten Strike (founding partners Marshall Gramm and Arkansas native Clay Sanders) entered Saturday with 14 victories at the meeting to rank third. Ten Strike had three closing-day entrants.
Diodoro trains for the Campbells and Caroom.
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