Leading Jockeys of 2023: Ortiz Jr. Surpasses Own Record

By Joe Perez
January 4, 2024

On a late December morning, Irad Ortiz Jr., along with his brother and fellow jockey Jose, made a two-hour drive to Payson Park. There were no races for them in South Florida and Christmas was days away. But the drive, the motivation to improve even after another typical Irad year, was all he needed.

That relentless spirit, as his agent, Steve Rushing, called it, might be the secret to Ortiz’s success.

“I don’t think it’s anything that you can teach someone who’s just a naturally talented rider and has a great work ethic,” said Rushing. “He has a great personality; everyone loves him. Hard worker. He’s just a complete package.”

A year after setting the earnings record, Ortiz did it again in 2023 with $39,192,585, eclipsing the previous mark by more than $2 million. He led all jockeys in wins (366) for the seventh consecutive year, and also had the most seconds (269), and thirds (248). The 31-year-old native of Puerto Rico also was the leading rider by earnings for meets at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course, and Santa Anita Park.

On top of those accolades, Ortiz took the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) with Elite Power and the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) aboard Goodnight Olive , repeating his 2022 victories on both superstars at the year-end championships. His biggest win came in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with Horse of the Year contender White Abarrio . He earned his fifth Bill Shoemaker Award as the outstanding rider at the 2023 Breeders’ Cup.

“He’s not looking to take time off,” Rushing said. “He’s not looking at ever going on vacation like most people, most riders. They get toward the end of a great year and they want to take time off. He’s just always wanting to push and get to the next milestone, whatever that may be. And he said last year, he broke the money record, and this year, he wanted to break that, which he did again. He’s never satisfied and he’s always looking to accomplish more.”

Unlike many top jockeys, the four-time Eclipse Award winner sometimes rides the entire card, especially at Saratoga. Ortiz’s 1,560 mounts also led the nation.

Top jockeys by 2023
North American earnings
Rank      Jockey N.A. earnings
1. Irad Ortiz Jr.   $39,192,585
2. Tyler Gaffalione $29,980,952
3. Flavien Prat    $26,746,503
4. Luis Saez         $23,191,560
5. Jose L. Ortiz   $22,577,022
6. Joel Rosario   $20,918,384
7. Javier Castellano          $19,492,859
8. Florent Geroux            $18,191,379
9. Manuel Franco             $17,680,105
10. John R. Velazquez    $15,527,186
11. Juan J. Hernandez    $15,201,531
12. Cristian A. Torres       $13,716,700
13. Junior Alvarado          $13,396,688
14. Dylan Davis $12,206,741
15. Paco Lopez $12,122,946
16. Gerardo Corrales      $10,369,967
17. Ricardo Santana Jr.   $10,222,895
18. Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. $10,018,102
19. Jose Lezcano               $9,959,528
20. Kendrick Carmouche               $9,652,192
21. Francisco Arrieta       $9,017,676
22. Kazushi Kimura          $8,798,122
23. Jaime Rodriguez        $8,200,631
24. Jevian Toledo             $8,189,813
25. Rafael Bejarano         $8,109,835