Some of the best 3-year-old horses in the country and their riders are set to face off on Saturday, at Belmont Park in the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the romp in the park by SECRETARIAT, when Big Red demoralized the field on his way to Victory and the Triple Crown.
On that day fifty years ago the G.O.A.T. was ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte, and they were both immortalized in Victory.
While this year’s edition of the race doesn’t feature any horses that appear be on the level of the legendary SECRETARIAT, a Win in the Belmont Stakes means a place in racing history for both horse and rider.
That said, here’s a look at the jockeys who’ll attempt to Win the Belmont on Saturday.
#1 TAPIT SHOES Jockey: Jose Ortiz. For over a decade, New York has been home to Ortiz, who is the younger brother of jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. From the outset, Jose has enjoyed success in the Big Apple where he’s racked up a dozen riding titles. In 2017, he captured the Eclipse Award as the top jockey in the country while leading the nation in earnings with more than $27 million. That same year, Ortiz Won the Belmont Stakes aboard TAPWRIT. That horse was a son of the stallion TAPIT, as is the horse that Ortiz will riding in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. Thus far untested in Graded Stakes company, TAPIT SHOES has just one Win in five career starts. However, he does have the right pedigree – and jockey – to improve in the mile-and-a-half journey that is the Belmont Stakes.
#2 TAPIT TRICE Jockey: Luis Saez. A Winner of nearly 3,300 races Saez seems destined for the Hall of Fame at his current pace. He has ranked in the top five in Wins among all jockeys in the U.S. the past four years. Saez also has a Belmont Stakes Win on his résumé going back to 2021 when he Won the race aboard ESSENTIAL QUALITY. Progeny of TAPIT have had lots of success in the Belmont Stakes in recent years, and that bodes well for Saez as he’s slated to ride another TAPIT colt on Saturday. After Winning the Tampa Bay Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes earlier in the year, TAPIT TRICE finished a disappointing 7th in the Kentucky Derby. He and Saez are hoping for redemption with a strong bounce-back effort in the Belmont Stakes.
#3 ARCANGELO Jockey: Javier Castellano. JJ is riding high these days, just a month removed from his Winning his first Kentucky Derby. He captured the roses aboard MAGE and followed that up with a 3rd-place finish in the Preakness. With MAGE not running in the Belmont Stakes, Castellano will be aboard ARCANGELO for the third and final race of this year’s Triple Crown series. ARCANGELO has been in impressive in his two most recent starts highlighted by a Win over the dirt at Belmont Park in the Peter Pan Stakes last month. A Win Saturday would be the first in the Belmont Stakes for Castellano who has finished 2nd in the race on three occasions.
#4 NATIONAL TREASURE Jockey John Velazquez. As of three weeks ago, all that was missing on the Hall of Fame résumé of Johnny V. was a Victory in the Preakness Stakes. That box is now checked following his Win aboard NATIONAL TREASURE. Velazquez will be back on the Preakness Winner as they attempt to take down two of this year’s three Triple Crown races by Winning the Belmont Stakes. Velazquez has participated in a stunning 25 Belmont Stakes, having Won the race twice. That’s a credit to him still getting top billing on major race days some 33 years into a career that has seen him Win more than 6,500 races.
#5 IL MIRACOLO Jockey: Marcos Meneses. New to the frenzy of the Belmont Stakes this year will be Meneses, the native of Venezuela has been a mainstay in South Florida since he began riding in the United States n 2015. This year’s Belmont will easily mark the most significant mount of his career. To date, Meneses has banked nearly 4,500 rides and he’s Won nearly 400 races, the biggest of which was the 2020 Hal’s Hope Stakes at Gulfstream Park aboard a horse named IDENTIFIER at odds of over 60-1. Meneses is tasked with pulling off a similar upset if he’s to Win the Belmont this year. Though he Won in his most recent start last month, IL MIRACOLO was soundly defeated earlier in the year in each of his attempts against upper-tier Graded Stakes contenders.
#6 FORTE Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Ortiz just keeps getting better and is statistically the best jockey in America. At just 30 years old, he’s a sure-fire future Hall of Famer who already has two Belmont Stakes Wins to his credit. Ortiz is a four-time Eclipse Award Winner, having captured the award as North America’s leading rider last year – and he’s on pace to Win it again this year. Ortiz is the current leader nationally by purse earnings (more than $15 million already) and Wins for 2023. Of his 3,500-plus career Victories, 17 of them have come at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Ortiz is very comfortable riding in New York and at Belmont Park where he’s Won nine riding titles.
#7 HIT SHOW Jockey: Manny Franco. Franco has made a steady rise to the upper echelon of jockeys on the NYRA circuit over the past several years. Upon his arrival in New York, between 2018 and 2019, he led the competitive NYRA colony in Wins with a combined 456 Wins for both seasons. He’s also finished in the top ten nationally in earnings every year since 2016. Franco enjoyed success with his first Belmont Stakes mount in 2020, riding TIZ THE LAW to Victory in the 152nd running of the race. Last year, Franco hit the homestretch of the Belmont Stakes with a shot at Winning the race again but ultimately finished 3rd aboard SKIPPYLONGSTOCKING. After Winning the Withers Stakes and finishing 2nd in the Wood Memorial, HIT SHOW closed to finish an impressive 5th in the Kentucky Derby at odds of 24-1.
#8 ANGEL OF EMPIRE Jockey: Flavien Prat. In Prat’s first Belmont Stakes ride in 2021 he nearly Won the race aboard HOT ROD CHARLIE. Prat will have every opportunity to Win on Saturday when he rides ANGEL OF EMPIRE. The horse finished 3rd in the Kentucky Derby and will be one of the favorites in the Belmont. A Belmont Stakes Win is all that’s missing from the Triple Crown series on Prat’s résumé. He Won the Kentucky Derby in 2019 and the Preakness Stakes in 2021. That’s pretty remarkable considering Prat’s first full season riding in North America was just eight years ago. In three of the past four years, he’s finished in the top five in earnings for jockeys nationally. He’s currently third on the list in 2023 behind only Irad Ortiz Jr. and Luis Saez.
#9 RED ROUTE ONE Jockey: Joel Rosario. Rosario has made the most of his opportunities in the Belmont Stakes and has proven himself a reliable rider on the biggest days and on the biggest stages in racing. He Won the Kentucky Derby in 2013 (ORB) and has collected 15 Wins in Breeders’ Cup races. He has been a leading New York-based jockey multiple times, and Won the Belmont Stakes in 2019 aboard longshot SIR WINSTON. That was the second Belmont Stakes triumph for Rosario who previously Won the race in 2014 on TONALIST. RED ROUTE ONE comes to New York after running a credible 4th in the Preakness Stakes.
