Puerto Rican jockey José Luis Ortiz overcame a fall on Friday to close the Breeders’ Cup with two victories and remain in the race for the lead in U.S. horse racing’s jockey earnings statistics. Ortiz was the only one of seven Puerto Rican jockeys to win at least one race at the event, which ended Saturday with Sovereignty winning the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Ortiz is second in 2026 earnings with $41,813,205, just $309,691 behind French jockey Flavien Prat, who leads with $42,122,896. The earnings lead does not necessarily decide the winner but often carries weight in the Eclipse Award vote for the season’s top jockey in the United States. With two months left on the calendar, the race for first place remains open.
Ortiz’s wins came aboard Nitrogen in the Distaff and Kathynmarissa in the Filly & Mare Turf. On Friday, he fell at the start of one of the first races on the card, outside the official Breeders’ Cup races. He needed assistance to leave the track and was medically evaluated.
He missed a couple of mounts but was cleared to return for the last races Friday. On Saturday he came close to another win with Englishman, the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but was overtaken in the final yards by Japan’s T.O. Elvis. Ortiz is having one of the best seasons of his career, having won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes with Golden Tempo, though that horse did not meet expectations in Saturday’s Classic.
Hall of Famer John Velázquez finished without wins and stays at 22 Breeders’ Cup victories, third all-time behind fellow Puerto Rican Irad Ortiz Jr., who is inactive and has 23.