As a boy, Yomar Ortiz Jr. had a favorite seat for watching horse racing: his grandmother's couch.
Ortiz (no relation to brothers Jose and Irad Ortiz, Jr.) would pretend to be a jockey, "riding the couch," while watching the races and imagining the day he would compete on the track himself. On Wednesday at Keeneland, the 17-year-old will take a step toward making that childhood dream a reality when he is scheduled to make his professional riding debut aboard Eli's Promise in the third race.
"I've waited for this my whole life," Ortiz Jr. said. "I grew up watching my dad ride (races), and I grew up watching racing, and it's all I've ever wanted to do since I was a little kid, since I could remember."
Racing has long been a big part of the Ortiz family. Yomar's father, Yomar Orlando Ortiz, has ridden mostly in the Mid-Atlantic region since 2012. The elder Ortiz has 517 wins with nearly $14 million in earnings.
The younger Ortiz, who like his father attended the Escuela Vocacional Hípica, a school for aspiring jockeys in Puerto Rico, learned his craft as an exercise rider for trainers Todd Wyatt, Justin Nixon and Suzanne Stettinius in Maryland then moved to New York to work for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey in 2025. He has since joined trainer Joe Sharp's stable, where he has continued developing his skills in the mornings and learned from accomplished riders.
"I'm excited for him," said Sharp, who named Ortiz Jr. on Eli's Promise in the 6-furlong claiming race on the main track. "He's a good rider, a really good rider. And a good kid, too. I asked him, 'Are you nervous?' He said, 'Nervous? Nervous? I'm excited. I've been waiting for this my whole life.'"
Liz Morris, Ortiz Jr.'s agent, and a former jockey, believes the young rider has the qualities needed to succeed.
"He's very special," Morris said. "He's unique. He's meant to be a rider. He checks every box that you want to see, especially in a young apprentice. He's beyond his years."
Morris said Ortiz Jr.'s maturity and natural ability in the saddle stand out, recalling how he has handled challenging horses during training.
"He's 17 going on 30; that's hard to find," she said. "If you see him on a horse, he's a natural. I've seen him on horses in the mornings, horses that were being difficult for Joe (Sharp) and he just floats with them."
Ortiz Jr. will begin his career at a track he already considers his favorite. Since arriving at Keeneland for the Fall Meet, he has developed a strong appreciation for the track and the opportunity to compete alongside some of the sport's best jockeys.
"I've always been told, 'You've got to ride with the best to be the best,' " Ortiz Jr. said. "Riding with the big jockeys here, I think it'll make me learn a lot faster."
His ambitions extend well beyond his debut. Ortiz Jr. hopes to win the Kentucky Derby (G1), a dream that began during those afternoons watching racing from his grandmother's couch. He also has his sights set on the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey.
"I'd love to win a Kentucky Derby one day, " Ortiz Jr. said. "Even just riding in the Derby, that is a big goal of mine. Of course, I want to win the Eclipse Award, so that's another goal. I mean, there's a lot of goals."
For now, Ortiz is trying to stay calm ahead of Wednesday's debut, though he expects the nerves to arrive when he enters the Jockeys Quarters before the race.
"I'll be nervous until I get on the horse," Ortiz Jr. said. "Once I get that leg up, I think all those nerves are going to go away, and the focus is going to turn to one thing, and that's to do my best out there."
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