[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING JOSE LUIS ORTIZ, AND IRAD ORTIZ JR., PUERTO RICO'S CHAMPION 
            BROTHERS WHO CONQUERED THE 152ND KENTUCKY DERBY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. PABLO JOSE HERNANDEZ

                             of puerto rico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2026

  Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two extraordinary 
sons of Puerto Rico whose achievements on May 2, 2026, at Churchill 
Downs resonated far beyond the finish line of the 152nd Kentucky Derby. 
Puerto Rican jockey Jose Luis Ortiz, riding the longshot Golden Tempo, 
crossed the wire first, surpassing by a matter of strides his own older 
brother, Irad Ortiz, Jr., who piloted Renegade to second place. In 
doing so, these two brothers from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, gave the 
world of thoroughbred racing one of its rarest family tableaus, and 
gave the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico one of its proudest moments in 
sports history.
  Born and raised in Trujillo Alto, in the metropolitan area of San 
Juan, Irad, Jr. on August 11, 1992, and Jose on October 2, 1993, both 
brothers grew up in a family where racing was not a career but a 
calling: their grandfather add an uncle were jockeys before them, and a 
legendary Puerto Rican Hall of Fame rider served as an early 
inspiration and later a mentor to them both. Both brothers are proud 
graduates of the Escuela Vocacional Hipica Agustin Mercado Reveron, the 
government-funded, tuition-free jockey academy on the grounds of 
Hipodromo Camarero in Canovanas. Puerto Rico, widely regarded as the 
premier jockey school in North America. Its alumni have earned nine 
Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey and have produced some of the 
sport's most celebrated riders, with approximately 80 percent of 
graduates going directly to United States racetracks and the school's 
reach extending to draw students from the mainland as well.
  Jose Luis Ortiz has built a career for the ages. In 2017, he won the 
Belmont Stakes and earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. In 
2022, he captured the Preakness Stakes. On May 2, 2026, he completed a 
rare sweep of all three American Triple Crown races, guiding 23-1 
longshot Golden Tempo to victory in the Kentucky Derby, one of 
thoroughbred racing's most celebrated career milestones.
  Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been equally relentless in his pursuit of 
greatness. He has led all North American riders in wins for nine 
consecutive years, from 2017 through 2025, a span of dominance without 
parallel in the modern era. His Triple Crown victories include the 
Belmont Stakes in both 2016 and 2022. A five-time Eclipse Award winner 
for Outstanding Jockey, he became in 2025 the first jockey in history 
to surpass $40 million in single-season earnings, a record that speaks 
to the unshakable trust that the sport's top trainers and owners place 
in him.
  Mr. Speaker, the name Ortiz finishing first and second at the 152nd 
Kentucky Derby was no accident. It is the culmination of a 
multigenerational family's sacrifice and the transformative, tuition-
free education of the Escuela Vocacional Hipica Agustin Mercado 
Reveron. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jose Luis 
Ortiz and Irad Ortiz, Jr. on their extraordinary careers, and in 
recognizing that institution and its dedicated faculty and leadership 
for the work they do every day for young people from Puerto Rico and 
beyond who dare to dream of crossing the finish line first.

                          ____________________