Irad Ortiz Jr. is a Puerto Rican jockey who has been a leading rider in the New York Thoroughbred horse racing circuit since 2012. He won his first Breeders' Cup race on Lady Eli in 2014, and his first American Classic on Creator in the 2016 Belmont Stakes. He won the 2022 Belmont Stakes on Mo Donegal.
Ortiz at the 2018 Breeders' Cup
Ortiz, on the gray, at Saratoga 2015
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. All sites have been in the United States, except in 1996, when the races were at the Woodbine Racetrack in Canada.
2018 Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs
The saddling paddock, decorated for the Breeders' Cup
Start of 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff
The championship races in 2009 (pictured) were the second year to have a day devoted to female horses. Since 2013, the gender on both days is mixed between races.