They’re off and running for the prestigious jockey and trainer titles in the final week of the summer season at Saratoga Race Course.
And the races are close ... too close to call with five more days of racing at the Spa.
In the jockey race, we already know seven-time winner Irad Ortiz, Jr., won’t capture his fifth straight riding title (he’s been sidelined with an ankle injury since early August). We also know his brother, Jose Ortiz, who was vying for his fourth Spa riding title, is riding four of the next five days at Kentucky Downs.
Which means this: While Jose led the jockey race with 65 wins heading into Thursday’s races, it’s likely a duel between Manny Franco (63 wins, including the Travers Stakes aboard Leading Change and the Alabama Stakes with My Guns Loaded) and Flavien Prat (62 wins, including the Ballerina with Ways and Means, the Test with Explora and the Personal Ensign with Fully Subscribed). Each is seeking their first Spa riding title at the signature meet in the country.
Jose is scheduled for rides on Saturday (Aug. 5), and that’s it. Franco and Prat, meanwhile, are booked solid at the Spa: Franco is booked for 44 races from Thursday to Sunday. Prat is booked for 32 races from Thursday to Saturday. He’s riding at Kentucky Downs on Sunday.
The Ortiz brothers have won Spa riding titles 10 of the past 11 years – the only break was when Luis Saez won in 2021.
In the trainers’ race, it’s a duel once again between Chad Brown (37 wins through Wednesday, Sept. 2) and Linda Rice (33 through Sept. 2). In 2023, they tied for the title when Rice won the final race of the meet.
Brown, seeking his ninth Spa trainer’s title (he’s won six outright, and tied with Rice in 2023 and with Todd Pletcher in 2025), has horses entered in 24 races from Thursday-Sunday. Rice has horses entered in 27 races over the same time frame.
The final day of the meet is Monday, Sept. 7. Entries will be official later Thursday (Sept. 3)
Stay tuned since it just night come down to the last race on the last day of the meet to determine the Spa’s leading trainer and jockey.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
