José L. Ortiz finally got his roses, and he had to outrun his own brother to get them. The Puerto Rican jockey won the 152nd Kentucky Derby this weekend aboard Golden Tempo, guiding the 23-1 long shot from the back of the field to a stunning victory at Churchill Downs.
It was Ortiz's first Kentucky Derby win in 11 attempts, a career-defining moment made even more dramatic because Renegade, the horse he passed near the wire, was ridden by his older brother, Irad Ortiz Jr.
The finish gave horse racing one of its rarest family snapshots: one brother winning the sport's most famous race, the other finishing second, and both standing at the center of a Puerto Rican dynasty that began long before either of them arrived in New York.
Ortiz was emotional after the race, especially because his parents were at Churchill Downs to witness the victory. "I get to ride it almost every year, but to get to win it, it's just special," Ortiz said. "I just wish my grandpa was here, but I know he's looking from heaven. Just very happy that I get my goal, my life dream goal achieved."
The victory was also historic for trainer Cherie DeVaux, who became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. DeVaux praised Ortiz's ride, calling it "masterful," after Golden Tempo broke slowly, trailed the field, and then charged through traffic to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:02.27.
For Ortiz, the moment capped a remarkable weekend. Less than 24 hours earlier, he had also won the Kentucky Oaks, the top race for 3-year-old fillies, giving him one of the most coveted doubles in American racing.
Born in Puerto Rico, Ortiz comes from a racing family. He and Irad graduated from the Escuela Vocacional Hípica jockey school, and both their grandfather and an uncle were jockeys. Irad moved to New York in 2011, and José followed soon after, winning with his first mount, Corofin, at Aqueduct in March 2012.
The brothers quickly became two of the most successful riders in thoroughbred racing. On Jan. 20, 2013, they swept the first seven races at Aqueduct between them, with José winning three and Irad winning four, an early sign that the Ortiz name would become unavoidable in U.S. racing.
José Ortiz's résumé was already elite before Saturday. He won his 1,000th race in 2016, his 2,000th in 2020 and his 3,000th at Churchill Downs in 2024. America's Best Racing lists his lifetime purse earnings at more than $307 million, though that figure reflects money earned by the horses he rode, not his personal take-home pay.
His likely Kentucky Derby payday was still huge. The Derby purse was listed at $5 million, with jockeys typically receiving about 10% of the winner's share. Based on a winner's share of roughly $3.1 million, Ortiz's gross cut would be about $300,000 to $310,000, before agent fees, valet fees and taxes.
But the money was only part of the story. Ortiz had already won other major races, including the Belmont Stakes, but the Derby had kept slipping away. On Saturday, he found the opening, timed the run and turned Golden Tempo into the horse everyone was chasing too late.
For Puerto Rico, it was another reminder of the island's deep imprint on American horse racing. For the Ortiz family, it was something more intimate: a grandfather's legacy, two brothers at the wire and one dream finally finished in roses.
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