Irad Ortiz Jr will miss the start of Saratoga Race Course’s summer meet, with the defending riding champion among several high-profile jockeys serving suspensions during opening weekend in New York.
The absence is a notable early twist at the Spa, where Ortiz won 59 races in 2025 to claim a fourth consecutive Saratoga jockeys’ title and the seventh of his career. Luis Saez, Kendrick Carmouche, Katie Davis and Chris Elliott are also out for parts of the opening stretch, leaving trainers and bettors to adjust at one of the sport’s most competitive summer meetings.
Saratoga title race starts without its headline rider
According to the Times Union report on the Saratoga suspensions, Ortiz is completing a Delaware Park penalty from June 2026 before serving three further days linked to careless riding at Saratoga in August 2025.
Saez is due to miss the rest of the weekend and July 9, while Carmouche’s five-day suspension is tied to last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup, though he is permitted to ride Phileas Fogg in Saturday’s Grade 2 Suburban.
The timing matters because New York rules require suspensions to be served at the same meet where the relevant offence occurred. For Saratoga, that means the early standings will open without some of the riders who usually shape the whole table.
