Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. secured a record 77th stakes win in a single season in North America when he guided Dr B to an easy victory in the Go for Wand Stakes (G3) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up Dec. 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The win, which surpassed the record of 76 set in 2007 by late Hall of Famer jockey Garrett Gomez, was never really in doubt for Ortiz Jr. and Dr B. The pair broke on top and had the race sewn up in a matter of strides as they never looked back en route to a 4 1/4-length victory over a sloppy and sealed track in a final time of 1:35.18 for the one-mile distance.
"This is great. Amazing feeling," said Ortiz Jr., who won the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey from 2018-20. "It's amazing just to be a part of the story. (Garrett) Gomez did it in 2007, and he was a great rider, one of the best in the game. I'm so happy just to be a part of this. I love this sport. Thanks to everyone who has supported me; trainers, owners, and my agent Steve Rushing.
"The speed has been playing well the past couple of days," he added of his trip aboard Dr B. "She broke well. She had been sprinting before, and I didn't want to take anything away. I just let her be herself, and she was nice and relaxed. When I asked her, she was there for me."
A remarkable season for the 30-year-old native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, featured a classic victory aboard Mo Donegal in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1), along with grade 1 scores on the NYRA circuit by Bleecker Street, Chocolate Gelato, Forte , Goodnight Olive, Life Is Good , McKulick, and Nest.
His NYRA dominance this season includes meet titles at Belmont Park spring/summer (48 wins), Saratoga Race Course (55), and Belmont at the Big A fall meet (35). Ortiz Jr. also notched grade 1 Breeders' Cup wins in November at Keeneland with Forte, Goodnight Olive, and Elite Power .
Ortiz Jr., who has led all North American riders in wins since 2017, is well on his way to continuing that streak, boasting 305 wins through Saturday—well ahead of second-place Vicente Del-Cid. He had banked $35,868,959 heading into Saturday's action, already surpassing his own single-season earnings record of $34,109,019 set in 2019.
"This (record) is something that I didn't even know until a week before the Breeders' Cup," said Ortiz. "I never tried to pay too much attention, I just ride and try to keep winning, and whatever happens at the end of the year, we'll see how it goes. Thank God the last couple of years have been great."
To her credit, Dr B continued her steady ascent up the ranks with an authoritative win in the Go for Wand for trainer Butch Reid and owners Cash is King and LC Racing. Last year, the bay filly finished second in an off-the-turf running of the Blue Sparkler Stakes at Monmouth Park and picked up a couple of minor awards in a pair of second-level allowance races in the mid-Atlantic, but failed to distinguish herself as a top sophomore.
That changed in a hurry when she won her 4-year-old debut June 11 at Parx Racing and two starts later, finished second to eventual Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Goodnight Olive at Saratoga. After another victory at Parx and a pair of seconds against ungraded competition, Dr B finally netted her first stakes win on Saturday with Ortiz Jr. aboard for the initial time.
"We love that New York money, and it's worth that trip up the turnpike," Reid said. "I didn't know if she'd maintain the fractions; I was a little surprised she was on the lead, but she broke so sharp. She's got a bit of a tender mouth on her, and Irad just did a tremendous job and let her do her thing.
"It was fun," Reid said of Ortiz's record-breaking win. "I didn't even realize that we got 76 for him out at Mahoning Valley (with Disco Ebo in the Youngstown Oaks), and we got 77 for him today."
Post-time favorite Bank Sting, a New York-bred filly trained by John Terranova for Hidden Brook Farm and Joseph and Anne McMahon, finished a clear second, 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Betsy Blue in third.
Bred in Kentucky by Eico Ventures, Dr B banked $110,000 in victory, while improving her record to 5-5-2 from 16 starts. She returned $8.30 for a $2 win bet. She is out of the grade 2 placed Proud Citizen mare Boleyn who has five winners from six foals to race. The dam's last reported foal is a 3-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Practical Joke named Stand Up Comic.
Video: Go for Wand S. (G3)
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
