Today, sunny and dry, was a three-goggle day.Īs the brothers raced side by side, the difference in their riding posture, or purchase, was clear. When the track is muddy, jockeys will wear up to five pairs of plastic riding goggles layered on top of one another, so that they can quickly peel away the outermost lenses as soon as they become encrusted with flying muck losing visibility, even for a microsecond, can be disastrous. But Jose remained close, while also wide enough of Fortunate Queen’s hindquarters to avoid getting pelted, and settled into the space between the leader and the third-place horse, Miss Pearl, which, each brother knew from his research, was the only other horse with speed.Įverything about the brothers’ gear is designed to weigh as little as possible, including the flak jackets they wear under their brightly colored silks, their shiny black boots that look like patent leather but are made of vinyl and weigh about three ounces each, and their lightweight helmets. His strategy was to get ahead, “save ground” by riding the rail, and hope to discourage Jose’s mount, a three-year-old named Fairybrook, by kicking dirt in her face. They veered masterfully toward the rail, intimidating the other horses but not quite interfering with them.Īs the horses hit top speed, about thirty-eight miles an hour, Irad, aboard a four-year-old filly named Fortunate Queen, held a two-length lead. Within three strides, the pair led the field. They burst from the gate together, with Irad, who is eighteen months older, slightly ahead, and Jose on his brother’s flank. Starting next to each other on the far outside of the dirt track were Irad and Jose Ortiz, two Puerto Rican jockeys, age twenty-five and twenty-four, whose rides have been electrifying New York’s racetracks in recent years. ![]() “They’re off!” the trackside announcer called for the tenth time that day, a Wednesday in August, at the Saratoga Race Course. To hear more feature stories, download the Audm app for your iPhone.
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