Irad Ortiz, Jr: 2026 Kentucky Derby Jockey Profile

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been riding since 2011 and had a meteoric rise to the top of the profession through the 2010s. He remains one of the best in the business well into the 2020s. Voters named Irad Ortiz champion jockey five times: he won his third consecutive Eclipse award in 2020, and after one year off, he earned two more in 2022 and 2023.

Ortiz is a fixture in the top races across the country and has been dominant in the Breeders’ Cup, in particular. He has won 23 Breeders’ Cup races since 2014. Ortiz rode three winners in the most recent Breeders’ Cup: he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with Bentornato, the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint with Shisospicy, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint with Cy Fair. Those all happened to be shorter distances, but he has won the long ones as well. Ortiz won the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic with White Abarrio, and the 2019 Classic with Vino Rosso, and the first race he won at the Breeders’ Cup came with Lady Eli in the 2014 Juvenile Fillies Turf.

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Irad Ortiz Jr. in the Kentucky Derby

As good as Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been in so many major races, he is still trying for his Kentucky Derby breakthrough. In nine Kentucky Derby rides, Ortiz has never finished better than fourth, with favored Improbable in 2019, after the disqualification of Maximum Security for interfering with several other foes. The only other time Irad Ortiz rode a horse into the top five – a high enough placing for a check – was in 2022, when he finished fifth with Mo Donegal.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the Triple Crown

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has ridden in the Preakness seven times between 2018 and 2025. Though he still seeks his first win in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, Ortiz has ridden a pair of second-place finishers. He rode Midnight Bourbon to a runner-up finish in 2021 and did the same with Blazing Sevens in 2023.

Fitting for a jockey who has done so much of his riding at Belmont Park, Ortiz has done his best Triple Crown work in the Belmont Stakes. He has ridden in the final jewel 11 times and won the race twice. He upset the 2016 Belmont with Creator, and rode Mo Donegal to victory in 2022. Mo Donegal was trained by Todd Pletcher – just like Ortiz’s 2026 Derby mount Renegade. Ortiz has also hit the board four other times in the Belmont: Dr. Post (2020), Forte (2023), and Mindframe (2024) all finished second, and Hofburg (2018) was third.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. and 2026 Kentucky Derby Contender Renegade

Irad Ortiz, Jr. had a host of great options for the Kentucky Derby. He won three final-level preps: the Arkansas Derby with Renegade, the Blue Grass (G1) with Further Ado, and the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) with Fulleffort. He sticks with the horse who the bettors seem to be most enthusiastic about heading into the Derby, as well: Renegade.

Ortiz has ridden Renegade for four of his five starts. He was in the irons for his debut on August 16 at Saratoga, in a 6 ½-furlong sprint that was just too short. Renegade chased on and missed place by half a length, though no one was in the same ZIP code as 17 ¾-length winner It’s Our Time. Ortiz did not ride Renegade for his next start, when he was disqualified against Paladin in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct; Ortiz was racking up a three-win day at Keeneland instead.

Ortiz returned to the saddle with Renegade for his stakes debut in the Remsen, where he rallied from midpack to prove a clear second best, two lengths behind the aforementioned Paladin. It was still a good effort against a horse who was a major Derby contender until an injury forced him off the trail, and Ortiz kept the mount for Renegade’s sophomore campaign.

Renegade showed promise at two but put it all together at three. Favored in the Sam F. Davis despite maiden status, he rallied well and rolled clear under Ortiz to win by 3 ¾ lengths, breaking his maiden and earning another handful of Kentucky Derby points. That earned him a ticket to the Grade 1 level for the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park – a test Renegade passed with flying colors. He was last half a mile into the 1 ⅛-mile race, but rallied sharply into the lane and galloped clear to win by four lengths over Silent Tactic, a horse who ran consistently well in the Oaklawn prep series.

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