Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. successfully defended his title as Saratoga’s leading rider, securing 52 wins to outpace runner-up Flavien Prat, who finished with 45 wins. Dylan Davis and Tyler Gaffalione tied for third place with 36 wins each. This victory marks Ortiz's third consecutive Spa riding title and his sixth overall.
"It’s always special to win leading rider here," said Ortiz, who is represented by agent Steve Rushing. "Thanks to everyone who helped me—trainers, owners, my agent. Thank you."
The 32-year-old native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, notched eight stakes victories during the meet, including graded-stakes wins in the Glens Falls (G2) with McKulick, the Saratoga Special (G2) with Showcase, the Caress (G3) with Dontlookbackatall, and the Sanford (G3) with Mo Plex.
"Every single race here is special to me. Even a claiming race, no matter what, it feels good when you cross the wire at Saratoga," Ortiz said. "It’s really, really hard to win a title here with all these riders. From 1 to 15, they’re all tough riders. We have the best trainers, the best horses, and great owners. It’s not easy to go out there every day and try to win a race, because everyone is trying to do the same thing, and they are really good, too."
Beyond the victories, Ortiz highlighted the admiration of fans, especially young ones, as what makes his success at Saratoga even more meaningful.
"It’s very special," Ortiz said. "Without the kids, it wouldn’t be the same, and it wouldn’t be fun. You give a little kid goggles, and they go crazy. It makes it special to see their faces."
Ortiz completed the meet with a record of 271: 52-36-48, earning $5,117,556, with a win rate of 19.19% and an in-the-money rate of 50.18%.
Flavien Prat, finishing second with 45 wins, had an outstanding meet, posting a record 18 overall stakes wins, including 14 graded-stakes victories, for a meet-leading total purse earnings of $6,610,757.
Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables claimed its 28th owners’ title at a NYRA meeting and seventh consecutive at Saratoga. All 18 of its wins came with horses trained by Chad Brown. Notable victories included Grade 1 wins by homebreds Ways and Means in the Test and Domestic Product in the Allen Jerkens, along with Grade 2 wins by McKulick in the Glens Falls and Idea Generation in the Flower Bowl. Klarman also campaigned for Curlin winner Unmatched Wisdom.
Brown praised his long-time client and expressed his appreciation for Klarman’s support and patience.
"He’s very deserving of it," said Brown. "He’s clear every meeting that his goal is not to be the leading owner. He just wants to develop good horses and do it the right way, putting the horse first and never taking any unnecessary chances. For him to have this many stakes wins and end up as the leading owner doing it the right way with quality starts and quality horses, I think he’s a very deserving winner."
Klaravich Stables finished the meet with a 61: 18-10-6 record and $2,175,928 in earnings. Flying P Stable took second place with 14 wins, while Repole Stable was third with seven wins.