Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has been excused from his mounts for the second half of the June 6 card after he was unseated from Ariana Rye ahead of the fifth race.
Soon after Ortiz was unseated behind the gate, Arianna Rye was scratched. After the race's conclusion it was announced that Ortiz would be off all remaining mounts Thursday.
NYRA posted an update on the rider on social media soon after the incident, noting Ortiz was "transported to Saratoga Hospital for a precautionary x-ray on his left ankle/foot."
Later in the day, the rider's agent, Steve Rushing, told Daily Racing Form's David Grening that those x-rays and a magnetic resonance imaging test were negative. Grening noted Ortiz would see how he felt tomorrow before deciding whether to ride.
Replacements for some of Ortiz's Thursday mounts were soon named. John Velazquez was aboard Audacious in the sixth, a maiden race; Jose Gomez will be aboard Miz Sense in the seventh, an allowance race; and Javier Castellano is named on Six Minus in race 10, the Belmont Gold Cup Stakes (G2T). Mounts also will be needed for Film Academy in race 8, a maiden race; and The Queens M G in race 9, the Astoria Stakes.
No announcement was immediately made for June 7-8, but as is typical, Ortiz is named to ride top horses, including Leslie's Rose in Friday's Acorn Stakes (G1), White Abarrio in Saturday's Metropolitan Handicap (G1), and Mindframe in Saturday's Belmont Stakes (G1), just to name three.
