Irad Ortiz Jr. suffered a left ankle injury before the eighth race at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, August 8, 2026, and was taken to Saratoga Hospital for further evaluation. The injury happened when And The Runner Is, the horse Ortiz was scheduled to ride, became fractious before the race. Ortiz was removed from the rest of his Saturday mounts, including White Abarrio in the $1 million Whitney Stakes. The horse was also scratched from Race 8 as a precaution. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) confirmed Ortiz would miss the rest of the card.
Irad Ortiz Jr. injury: What happened before Saratoga Race 8?
Ortiz was set to ride And The Runner Is, a second-time starter trained by Mark Casse, in a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. The horse acted up before post time, and Ortiz rolled his left ankle during the incident.
Daily Racing Form reporter David Grening reported on X that Ortiz was being taken to Saratoga Hospital to have the injury checked. The exact extent of the injury was not immediately known.
And The Runner Is was scratched from the race following the incident. The horse had previously raced at Saratoga on July 12, when Ortiz rode her to a second-place finish for Casse.
Irad Ortiz Jr. replaced on White Abarrio, Rhetorical and other Saratoga mounts
The injury meant Ortiz could not ride White Abarrio in the Whitney, a race he had been scheduled to ride on the horse he guided to victory in the 2023 edition. Micah Husbands was named as his replacement for Saturday’s $1 million Grade 1 race.
Ortiz was also scheduled to ride Rhetorical in the $750,000 Fourstardave Stakes. Manny Franco took over that mount.
His other rides were also reassigned. Luis Saez picked up Ortiz’s mounts in Races 13 and 14, while other replacements were made for his earlier rides on the card.
The injury came on one of Saratoga’s biggest racing days, with Ortiz originally booked for several major races. For now, the immediate update is that he was taken to the hospital for evaluation, while the full extent of his ankle injury remains unclear.
