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Belmont Racing Festival Success Nets Jose Ortiz Jockey Of The Week Title

Jose Ortiz won two Grade 1 stakes races and a Grade 2 stakes during Belmont Park's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, earning Jockey of the Week for June 1 through June 6. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

While Ortiz was originally scheduled to ride numerous mounts during the three-day Racing Festival, he picked up several more after his brother, Irad, went down in an on-track accident Thursday requiring jockey changes for Friday and Saturday. To everyone's relief, Irad was not seriously injured and is scheduled to return to riding soon. Jose went on to make the most of the mounts he picked up.

On Friday, Ortiz picked up the mount on Firenze Fire for trainer Kelly Breen in the Grade 2 True North at 6-1/2 furlongs. Firenze Fire broke from the rail and engaged Flagstaff for nearly the entire race before prevailing by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:15.52.

“(Irad) said he's a very nice horse and that he was going to break good,” said the replacement Ortiz. “I rode him like he was the best horse and he was the best horse.”

On Saturday, Ortiz was named his brother's replacement on Drain the Clock for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. Under Ortiz, Drain the Clock broke sharp from post 2 while the favorite, Jackie's Warrior missed the break but was hustled up to take command with Drain the Clock in unrelenting pursuit. Drain the Clock hit the wire in front by a neck. The win was Ortiz's first career Woody Stephens.

“It was a great race, everybody gave their best. I'm just happy we came out with the win and I'm happy filling in for Irad and not messing it up,” said Ortiz.

Later on Saturday, Ortiz picked up Letruska for Fausto Gutierrez in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares going 1-1/16 miles on the main track. With Ortiz aboard, Letruska went right to the lead out of the gate, led the other four up the backstretch and opened up to draw off by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:41;25. Ortiz said Letruska would not be denied the lead.

“She was breaking a little slow, but she broke good today. I was able to put her on the lead and make the other horses chase me,” said Ortiz.

Ortiz's weekly statistics were 32-5-5-4 for an in-the-money percentage of 43.7 and total purse earnings of $1,370,764.

For Jockey of the Week honors, Ortiz out-polled Edwin Gonzalez with an in-the-money rate of 62 percent, Flavien Prat with two graded stakes wins, Diego Saenz who was the leading jockey by wins with 10, and Luis Saez who won the Belmont Stakes.

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Jockey Xavier Perez Celebrates 1,000th Win Milestone

Jockey Xavier Perez celebrated the 1,000th win of his career on Monday at Delaware Park, capturing the sixth race by a nose aboard the Jerry Robb-trained In The Loop.

“It's a big achievement for me,” Perez told The Racing Biz. “It's been ups and downs – more ups than downs. I had a couple of bad years, but it was just a little bump in the road. I went through it, and I'm here. I'm here.”

The 33-year-old native of Puerto Rico began his riding career at Charles Town, and moved to Maryland in 2011. His career-defining horse came in 2013 when he piloted Dance to Bristol to seven consecutive victories, including the G1 Ballerina at Saratoga.

Perez won just 22 races in both 2016 and 2017, but bounced back to double and then triple that total in the next two years.

His 1,000 victories have come from 8,134 mounts, with earnings approaching $26 million.

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Barry Mahon Takes Over As General Manager For Juddmonte’s European Operation

Barry Mahon, currently Juddmonte's Stud Director Ireland, is to take on the responsibility for all the organization's European racing after following the retirement of Teddy Grimthorpe, announced in April.

He will continue to run Juddmonte's operations in Ireland and becomes General Manager Ireland and European Racing. His key racing role, from June 21, will be to liaise with Juddmonte's trainers in the UK, France and Ireland.

Mahon was born and bred into Juddmonte. His father, Rory Mahon, has been at Ferrans Stud with Juddmonte for nearly 40 years and remains a highly valued member of the team. Rory will continue to help manage the Irish stud operation.

After working for John Gosden, Barry completed an honors degree in Equine Science and International Business Management at Oxford Brookes University. During this time, he completed work placements with Coolmore Ireland, Coolmore USA and Highclere Stud.

On completion of his degree, he was appointed Yearling Manager at Grangecon Stud in Ireland, before becoming Manager of Clarecastle Farm (breeders of Authorized and Order Of St George) in Ireland, a position he held for 12 years before joining Juddmonte in 2017.

Garrett O'Rourke remains General Manager USA, responsible for Juddmonte's stud activities and racing there. Simon Mockridge remains General Manager UK, responsible for stud activities in the UK, including the European stallions and broodmares.

Claude Beniada continues to represent Juddmonte in France, reporting to Mahon. The Racing Office under Megan Taylor, Racing Secretary, remains at Banstead Manor Stud, Newmarket.

Douglas Erskine Crum, Chief Executive of Juddmonte, said, “As Racing Manager for Juddmonte's late owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, Teddy managed all Juddmonte's European horses in training and played a leading role in Juddmonte's consistent and sustained success worldwide at the very highest level in racing. On behalf of Prince Khalid's family and all of us past and present at Juddmonte, I thank Teddy for all he has achieved, year after year, and we wish him the very best of good fortune for the future.

“We are delighted Barry is taking on the additional European racing role. He is ideally placed to take on Teddy's duties in Europe and, together with Rory, continue to manage Juddmonte Ireland.”

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Rice License Revocation Goes Into Effect June 7

Top New York trainer Linda Rice saw her license revoked officially by the state's gaming commission June 7, two weeks after a hearing officer's recommendations in her long-running case were made public. Rice was accused of receiving information from the racing office about which horses were entered in which races prior to the official close of entries. The alleged information exchange took place over a period of 2011 and 2014, and the commission first brought a complaint against Rice in 2019. A series of hearing dates took place in late 2020, during which the commission and Rice's attorney presented information to a hearing officer along with numerous volumes of data and interview transcripts.

At a regularly scheduled meeting two weeks ago, the gaming commission voted to uphold that hearing officer's recommendation that Rice's license be revoked with the condition she could not reapply for licensure for at least three years. She has also been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 and is denied all access to New York gaming commission-sanctioned properties.

Rice's lone entry on June 7, Inside Info in the eighth race at Finger Lakes, was a stewards' scratch.

The commission had alleged that Rice “received regular, continual and improper access to confidential names and other information,” and that she “paid substantial sums of money to NYRA racing officials” to get this information. The hearing officer agreed that Rice improperly solicited and received non-public information but dismissed the charge relating to the trainer allegedly paying substantial sums of money in exchange for the information.

“We are gratified that the commission dismissed the bribery charges against Ms. Rice as they had no merit whatsoever,” said Rice's attorney, Andrew Turro. “Nonetheless, we are troubled by the Commission's determination with respect to the racing information issue because it is incorrect in a number of material respects. We will seek judicial review of the order as soon as possible and expect to be heard in court this week on a stay application.”

Licensees in New York are entitled to appeal a finding of a hearing officer to the appropriate court, and it's common for stays of suspensions or other penalties to be issued while the appeals process plays out.

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