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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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Sister Nell Gives Pletcher, Alvarado First Win Of Gulfstream’s Championship Meet

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher notched his first victory of the 2021-2022 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Sunday when JSM Equine LLC's Sister Nell captured her career debut under a perfectly executed ride by Junior Alvarado.

The 2-year-old daughter of Kitten's Joy scored a 14-1 upset victory after saving ground while rating off the early pace in the mile maiden special weight race on turf carded as Race 3. After cutting the corner into the stretch and caught behind a wall of horses in mid-stretch, Alvarado took advantage of room that opened up along the rail, and the homebred filly surged through the opening to prevail by a half-length.

Pletcher has won a record 18 Championship Meet training titles.

Sister Nell was also jockey Alvarado's first winner of the Championship Meet.

“He got a great trip, saving ground. When we turned for home, I was just hoping for a little bit of room, and when I found it, she gave me a very nice kick at the end,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado returned to South Florida last season to ride during the Championship Meet after spending several winters in New York, riding 53 winners to rank seventh in both victories and purses-won.

“I love it here. Even before getting here, it was getting into the 20s and 30s. It was already getting a little chilly there,” said Alvarado, who also scored aboard favored Strike Hard in Sunday's Race 9 feature. “Moving here and getting the great sunshine does make you ride better.”

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Jockey Cristian Torres On A Hot Streak At Oaklawn

Jockey Cristian Torres picked up where he left off last spring at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Ark., recording winners on the first two programs of the 2021-2022 meeting that began Friday.

Saturday's victory came in the fourth race, a $101,000 allowance event at 1 1/16 miles, aboard Taishan ($5.40) for Southern California-based trainer Richard Baltas.

Despite missing the first six days of the 2021 meeting after moving his tack from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Torres finished seventh in the standings with 22 victories in his Oaklawn debut. Torres, 24, recorded his first career Oaklawn stakes victory on the penultimate day of the meeting in the $200,000 Arkansas Breeders' Championship aboard Tempt Fate for Hot Springs owner Jerry Caroom.

“It was awesome,” Torres said. “Like everything, the beginning was a little slow and then I met people. Hopefully, this year will go better. We were here early and starting the meet from the beginning. Expecting a good meet.”

Dating to April 29, Torres, through Saturday, had ridden a winner five consecutive racing days at Oaklawn. He won the first race of the 2021-2022 meeting aboard Take Charge Erica ($9.40) for trainer Aaron Shorter.

A native of Puerto Rico, Torres was attending the country's Escuela Vocacional Hipica Agustin Mercado Reveron when Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017, roughly two months before he said he was to graduate from the famed jockey school.

Torres moved to Florida and eventually New York, where he began exercising horses for future Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse in 2018. Among the horses Torres said he got on for Casse were multiple Grade 1 winner Got Stormy, millionaire Awesome Slew, and 2019 Preakness champion War of Will.

Torres began his riding career in April 2019 at Gulfstream Park and won 122 races that year to finish 76^th nationally. He won 120 races the following year to finish 43^rd. Torres was fourth in voting for an Eclipse Award as the country's champion apprentice jockey of 2019 and finished fifth for 2020.

After Oaklawn's 2021 meeting ended May 1, Torres returned to Gulfstream Park and rode 44 winners. He returned to Hot Springs late last month and said he plans to ride at Oaklawn until the meeting ends May 8.

“Last year, I did pretty good, and when I went back to Gulfstream, I had it in my mind to come back here,” Torres said. “I like it here. I like this track. I like the people.”

Torres is represented by Ruben Munoz, longtime agent for perennial Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr.

“He knows everybody,” Torres said of Munoz. “He knows how to do it.”

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Jockey Paco Lopez Posts Five-Win Day Saturday At Gulfstream Park

Jockey Paco Lopez put the finishing touches on a five-win afternoon by guiding Patricia Generazio homebred Mid Day Image to a front-running 1 ¼-length triumph in the $95,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 1/16-mile Emerald was the last of nine starter stakes worth $810,000 in purses on the 23rd Claiming Crown program, being held at Gulfstream for the 10th consecutive year. For 3-year-olds and up which have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2020-21, the Emerald was the last of four turf stakes.

Created by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Claiming Crown rewards and pays tribute to the horses and horsemen that provide the foundation for day-to-day racing programs at tracks around the country.

Lopez, who shares the Gulfstream track record with seven wins on a single card, notched four of his wins in the Claiming Crown. He had consecutive victories with Joe Di Baggio ($6) in Race 2, Blue Steel ($9.40) in the $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial, and Payntdembluesaway ($5.60) in the $90,000 Distaff Dash, and captured the $85,000 Rapid Transit with Miles Ahead ($4.60). He also finished second with Xy Speed in the $90,000 Canterbury and Hanalei's Houdini in the $125,000 Jewel, beaten less than two combined lengths.

“Not too bad a day. We had five wins and a couple seconds,” Lopez said. “My horses ran very well today.”

Mid Day Image entered the Emerald off back-to-back wins at Monmouth Parkin in Oceanport, N.J., the most recent coming Sept. 12, both in gate-to-wire fashion. The 5-year-old Midshipman gelding went straight to the lead from his rail post, posting fractions of :23.39, :47.73, and 1:11.22 chased by Clear Vision with 9-5 favorite Max K.O. looming in the clear in third.

Lopez and Mid Day Image maintained a clear advantage at the top of the stretch and continued on once set down for the drive, with Clear Vision unable to make up ground. Attentive came on late to get third, with Light Fury fourth and Max K.O. fifth. The winning time was 1:39.82 over a firm course.

“[Mid Day Image] has a lot of speed. Max K.O., I was scared of that horse because he's fast, too. I know that horse,” Lopez said. “I give credit to my horse. He's very, very good. He put me right there and [trainer Luis] Carvajal [Jr.] told me, 'Paco, that horse is ready today.'”

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