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Woodbine Wraps with Casse, Kimura, Barber Titles

With a record closing day handle of $8,530,593, Woodbine's 2021 Thoroughbred meet concluded Sunday with meet titles for trainer Mark Casse, jockey Kazushi Kimura, and owner Gary Barber. Casse secured the leading training title with 110 wins from his 539 starts and earnings of $8,189,186. Martin Drexler trailed in second by wins with 56. It was Casse's 13th time atop the Woodbine leaderboard and his 27 stakes victories at the Toronto oval in 2021 were 19 more than his closest rival. Casse, who is a member of the Hall of Fame in both the U.S. and Canada, has won Canada's Sovereign Award as the country's top trainer 13 times.

In contrast, Kimura was earning his first Woodbine jockey title. The 22-year-old is the first Japanese-born rider to achieve the feat. He notched 138 wins at the meet from 717 starts, including wins in eight black-type events, with $6,360,203 in earnings. The Eclipse Award winner as North America's outstanding apprentice, Kimura also won the Sovereign Award equivalent in both 2018 and 2019.

“It's a special achievement, and it was one of my dreams,” said Kimura. “Everybody wants to be a leading rider, but it's not easy. We just need great riding skills and good horses, good support from the trainers and owners for the whole season to be able to get the title. This year, I'd say I improved, and I got good support from trainers and owners. I appreciate that help for me to get the riding title.”

Barber was the leading money-winning owner at Woodbine for the third straight year although official statistics were not immediately available. Live racing will return next spring to the Toronto oval with opening day tentatively scheduled for the penultimate weekend in April.

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Aqueduct Fall Meet Concludes with Ortiz, Jr., Pletcher, Klaravich Titles

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, and owner Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables wrapped up Aqueduct's 15-day fall meet with the titles in their respective divisions Sunday. Ortiz, Jr. earned his eighth riding title at the Ozone Park track with a fall record of 76-21-7-12, a 27.63% win rate, and earnings of over $1.44 million. His five fall stakes included three on Saturday: the GII Remsen S. with Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), the GII Demoiselle S. with Nest (Curlin), and the GIII Go For Wand S. with Lady Rocket (Tale of the Cat). Jose Lezcano and Luis Saez tied for second in the rider standings with 17 wins apiece.

Pletcher notched 13 wins during the meet, with a total scoreboard of 52-13-8-7 and earnings of over $1.55 million. His 25% win rate was also highlighted by five stakes, including three on Saturday: the GI Cigar Mile with Americanrevolution (Constitution), and the joint Remsen and Demoiselle wins while partnered with Ortiz, Jr. It was Pletcher's first Aqueduct fall title since 2018. Christophe Clement and Chad Brown tied for second in the trainer standings with 11 wins each.

Klaravich Stables won the fall meet leading owner title for the second straight year with five total wins and a final record of 17-5-0-5. With earnings just shy of $260,000, it was the stable's fourth owner title on the NYRA circuit this season. Michael Dubb and Repole Stable tied for second with four wins each.

The 56-day winter meet at Aqueduct will kick off Thursday, Dec. 9. First post on the eight-race card is 12:50 p.m. ET. The meet will feature 46 stakes races worth nearly $6 million in purses and will conclude Sunday, Mar. 27.

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Ortiz Jr., Pletcher Win Leading Jockey, Trainer For Aqueduct Fall Meet

Irad Ortiz, Jr. led all riders at the 15-day fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack to earn his eighth riding title at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher compiled 13 wins, leading all trainers through the fall meet, with Klaravich Stables claiming the title as leading owner with five wins.

Ortiz, Jr., 29, finished the meet with a record of 76-21-7-12 and earnings of more than $1.44 million, winning at a 27.63% clip. He garnered five stakes victories during the Big A fall meet including a triumph aboard Peter Brant's Serve the King in the Grade 2 Red Smith on November 20 as well as the Key Cents when piloting the Pletcher-trained Classy Edition.

On Saturday, Ortiz, Jr. added three more stakes victories to his ledger when piloting the Brad Cox-conditioned Lady Rocket [G3 Go for Wand], as well as Mo Donegal [G2 Remsen] and Nest [G2 Demoiselle] to their respective wins for Pletcher on Cigar Mile Day.

Despite not riding in New York on Sunday, Ortiz, Jr., who was in his native Puerto Rico to ride at Camarero, maintained his lead over all other riders, with Jose Lezcano and Luis Saez tying for second with 17 wins apiece.

Pletcher scored five stakes wins during the meet, spearheaded by Americanrevolution capturing the G1 Cigar Mile presented by NYRA Bets. In addition to his trio of Cigar Mile Day scores, he saddled Repole Stable's Never Surprised to victory in the Gio Ponti on November 26 and Classy Edition in the Key Cents.

Pletcher boasted a ledger of 52-13-8-7 for the meet with earnings in excess of $1.55 million, while winning at a 25% clip. It was his first Aqueduct fall title since 2018, when he tied with Rudy Rodriguez with a dozen victories apiece.

“We've had a good fall,” Pletcher said. “We had a solid Belmont meet and we were fortunate enough to have a good Aqueduct meet as well so we're thankful. The main thing is you just want the horses to perform to their capabilities. We're fortunate enough to train horses like these. You want to do the best you can with them and it's gratifying to see them do so well.”

Pletcher finished two victories ahead of both Christophe Clement, who captured the 2020 fall meet title at the Big A, and Chad Brown, who won this year's Saratoga and Belmont fall titles.

Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables captured their fourth owner title on the NYRA circuit this season when taking the Aqueduct fall meet title for the second straight year.

Last year, Klaravich Stables tied with Repole Stable for the 2020 fall meet, each owner earning five wins apiece. Klaravich Stables mimicked that amount of victories this fall meet, which included maiden scores with the Chad Brown-trained Inflation Adjusted, Core Conviction, and Marketsegmentation.

Klaravich Stables, NYRA's overall leading owner for the past two years, exited the fall meet with a 17-5-0-5 record and purse earnings of nearly $260,000. Michael Dubb and Repole Stable tied for second with four wins each.

Live racing resumes on Thursday when Aqueduct will kick off the 56-day winter meet which runs through Sunday, March 27. The winter meet will feature 46 stakes races worth nearly $6 million in purses. First post on the eight-race card is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Champion Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Sets His Sights On Fourth Straight Championship Meet Title

Having won more races at a single Championship Meet than any jockey in history, Irad Ortiz Jr. returns to Gulfstream Park for the 2021-2022 season with his sights set on a fourth straight riding title.

Already, the 29-year-old Ortiz is in elite company as one of just four riders to lead the country's premiere winter meet standings three consecutive years, along with Jeff Fell (1977-79), Jorge Chavez (1999-2001) and Javier Castellano. Hall of Famer Castellano won a record five straight before being unseated by Luis Saez in 2016-17.

Ortiz ended Saez's two-year reign to start his own streak in 2018-2019 and, after flirting with Saez's single-season standard of 137 wins that year before ending with 135, surpassed it in dramatic fashion by guiding Known Agenda to a 2 ¾-length upset of the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farm at Xalapa for No. 138.

Represented by agent Steve Rushing, Ortiz would finish with 140 wins including the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) with Colonel Liam who, like Known Agenda, is trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. They also teamed up with Fearless in the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), Con Lima in the Herecomesthebride (G3) and Always Shopping in the La Prevoyante (G3).

In all, Ortiz won 14 stakes last winter including the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) on Mischevious Alex. On Feb. 6, he won six of 12 races, one victory shy of the single-day track record shared by Saez, Tyler Gaffalione, Paco Lopez and Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey.

“It was a great meet last year for me. What I can I say?” Ortiz said. “I have to say thank you to all the people for their help. Without their help and their support, it wouldn't be possible, honestly. I want to go and have fun and enjoy my time there. It's great weather, it's great racing and, hopefully, we can do it again.”

Ortiz heads to Gulfstream off a November to remember that began at Del Mar, where he earned his fourth straight Bill Shoemaker Award as top jockey during the Breeders' Cup World Championships following wins in the Dirt Mile (G1), Turf Sprint (G1) and Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2). He also finished second in the Turf (G1).

From there he returned to New York and won three more stakes including the Red Smith (G2). On Nov. 23, he won three stakes at Zia Park in New Mexico for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, including the Zia Park Derby and Oaks; went to Kentucky for the Clark (G1) where he finished off the board with Pletcher's Dr Post; and was back in California to ride for regular client Chad Brown. While there, he won the Jimmy Durante (G3) for a second straight year.

“I've been doing good, thank God. My agent does a great job,” Ortiz said. “Those are three great trainers and three people that we ride for. We went and did the best we could and I'm happy.”

Ortiz has been voted the Eclipse Award as North America's champion jockey each of the last three years, and will be prominent in the discussion again in 2021. Entering December, he ranked first in North America in wins (327) and has won 57 stakes, 33 of them graded, including 10 Grade 1 races. He was second to Joel Rosario in purses earned with $28,534,585 and holds the single-season mark of $34.1 million set in 2019.

This year marks Ortiz's seventh straight with at least 300 wins and eighth in a row topping $20 million in purse earnings. He picked up his 3,000th career victory Oct. 7 at Belmont Park on Saratoga Kisses for owner-trainer Rudy Rodriguez, a total that included 92 wins in his native Puerto Rico, according to Equibase.

“When you ride against the best, you learn. You learn a lot,” Ortiz said. “I like those kinds of races. When you're riding against the best jockeys in the world you learn a lot from them even when you get beat. We have some experience from that, and that makes you better.”

Following the 2020-2021 Championship Meet, Ortiz finished second during Belmont Park's spring meet by two wins to younger brother, Jose, as well as to Saez at Saratoga. Winner of the Belmont fall meet by a single victory over his sibling, Ortiz was tied with Jose Lezcano atop Aqueduct's fall meet standings.

“I feel good,” Ortiz said. “I want to go [to Gulfstream] and have the same support from the trainers and owners, I hope. I know if I have the same support they've given me that I can do something. I feel positive. I'm looking forward to it.”

The 87-day Championship Meet featuring 76 stakes, 37 graded, worth $14.26 million in purses opens Friday and runs through Sunday, April 3.

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