Jose Ortiz wins Kentucky Derby, beats brother Irad in historic sweep
· Yahoo Sports
They grew up in the same house in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. They learned to ride from the same family members, mentored by the same Hall of Fame jockey and have been pushed by the same sibling rivalry. Saturday, that all played out on the biggest stage in American racing as Jose Ortiz, 32, edged out his older brother Irad, 33, to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby.
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Down the stretch, Jose, aboard 23-1 longshot Golden Tempo, outdueled Irad, who was riding the 5-1 favorite Renegade. Golden Tempo, who started at the back of the pack, edged Renegade by a nose at the finish line.
The brothers finished first and second.
“I want him to win the Derby, of course,” Jose said after the win. “I know it’s his dreams as well. But it happened that way. I think he should be happy. His horse ran a very good race. Today’s my day and Golden Tempo’s day.”
It was Jose’s 11th try at the Derby. It was Irad’s 10th. Between them, they have five Eclipse Awards, thousands of Grade 1 victories, two Belmont Stakes wins and a Preakness Stakes win. The Kentucky Derby was the one race that eluded both.
Their grandfather, also named Irad Ortiz, was a jockey. So was their uncle Ivan. They both attended Puerto Rico’s Escuela Vocacional Hipica, a school for prospective jockeys, and were mentored by Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero Jr. They both arrived in New York and became premier jockeys.
The sibling rivalry never stopped.
“That’s just what we do,” Jose said in an interview with America’s Best Racing. “We’ve always competed, trying to beat each other. It’s still fun. We’re still very close.”
Saturday, that played out at Churchill Downs with most of America's sports fans watching. It came at the end of a weekend that put Jose in rare company even before the Derby started.
On Friday night, he won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Always a Runner for trainer Chad Brown. With Saturday’s Derby win, Jose became the ninth jockey in history to sweep both races in the same year. The last to do it was Brian Hernandez Jr. in 2024. Before that, it was Calvin Borel in 2009.
How much does the Kentucky Derby winning jockey win?
Jose’s money reflects how rare the weekend was. The Kentucky Derby carries a $5 million purse with $3.1 million going to the winner. Ortiz’s standard 10 percent jockey share comes to $310,000. That’s before his agent and valet take their shares.
Winning the Oaks added another $90,000 to his gross pay for the weekend.
Jose came into Saturday with more than $307 million in career earnings across nearly 19,000 starts. He had won the Belmont and the Preakness, but the Derby was the one thing missing from his resume.
Irad still doesn’t have it in 10 tries. He most likely will be back next year. They both will, once again playing out their lifelong rivalry in the biggest stage for American racing.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jose Ortiz wins Kentucky Derby, beating older brother Irad