Four-time Eclipse Award winner and longtime New York top trainer Chad Brown has won the 2024 Saratoga Race Course trainer’s title by posting 45 wins at the 39-day event that ran from July 11 to September 2.
Brown, 45, won his seventh overall Spa training title and fourth straight, and his 32nd title at the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) meet. He posted a record of 175-45-28-23 and earned $5,848,233 at the meet, with a winning percentage of 25.71 percent and a winning percentage of 54.86.
“My team does an incredible job every day, and our customers provide us with so many talented horses to work with. My team really does everything, and puts in so many hours and attention to detail into every entry,” Brown said. “In their day-to-day operations, they do an incredible job. I’m so happy and proud of them, and they so deserved the meet they had.”
Brown’s wins include 15, led by six Grade 1 wins with Whitebeam. [Diana]Domestic products [H. Allen Jerkens]rough sea [Personal Ensign]Ways and Means [Test presented by Ticketmaster]Carl Spackler [FanDuel Fourstardave Handicap] and Chancer McPatrick [Hopeful].
“The highlight is the six Grade 1 wins, all of them,” Brown said. “We’ve had meets where we’ve won more races, but we’ve never had a meet where we’ve won six Grade 1s. This is an incredible meet, really historic by any standard for our training, and I think it’s a meet that’s going to be hard for us or anyone else to beat in the future.”
Brown’s other wins came at the 2nd-place Flower Bowl. [Idea Generation]Shuvee 2nd Grade [Raging Sea]Grade 2 Glens Falls [McKulick]2nd Place Lake Placid presented by Caesars Sportsbook [Grayosh]Ballston Spa Rank 2 [Beaute Cachee]Kelso Grade 3 [Carl Spackler]Grade 3 With Expectations [Zulu Kingdom]Curlin listed [Unmatched Wisdom] and listed Bernard Baruch [Running Bee].
In his victories, Brown’s horses won on dirt at distances from 7 to 9 furlongs, and on turf from a mile to a mile and a half, with ages ranging from 2 to 5.
Brown spoke about the diversity of his trainee class and expressed gratitude to his mentor Bobby Frankel, who is inducted into the Hall of Fame for his invaluable teachings.
“Fortunately, I have a great mentor in Bobby Frankel, and we can train any type of horse here. That’s been passed down from him to me, and from me to my team,” Brown said. “I’m excited for my team to showcase their talents to be able to get the most out of horses in every category — age, surface, distance.”
Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and trainer Mike Maker are tied for second with 22 wins each.
Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. successfully defended his title as Saratoga’s leading rider after winning 52 lengths ahead of runner-up Flavien Prat. [45 wins] and Dylan Davis and Tyler Gaffalione, who tied for third place [36 wins]. Ortiz, Jr. won his third consecutive Spa title and sixth overall after adding titles in 2015, 2018 and 2020.
“It’s always special to win as the lead rider here,” said Ortiz, Jr., who is represented by Steve Rushing. “Thank you to everyone who has helped me — my trainer, my owners, my agent — thank you.”
The 32-year-old from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, has won eight points at the competition, including a win at the Grade 2 Glens Falls event. [McKulick]Saratoga Special Grade 2 [Showcase]Caress Class 3 presented by Albany Med Health System [Dontlookbackatall] and Sanford Grade 3 [Mo Plex].
The five-time Eclipse Award-winning rider also won the Fasig-Tipton Lure race. [Film Star]Galway [Halina’s Forte]Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital [Mo Plex] and listed Bernard Baruch [Running Bee].
“Every race here is special to me. Even a competitive race, no matter what, it feels good to cross the finish line at Saratoga,” said Ortiz, Jr. “I don’t know how other people look at it, but it’s really, really hard to win a title here with all these guys. I don’t want to name names, because from 1 to 15, they’re all great riders. We have the best trainers here, the best horses, great owners. It’s not easy to go out there every day and try to win a race, because everyone’s trying to do the same thing, and they’re really good.”
Aside from all the accolades and trips to the winner’s circle, Ortiz, Jr. said the admiration of the fans, especially the youngest ones, is what makes his success at Spa all the more meaningful.
“It’s very special,” said Ortiz, Jr. “Without the kids, it wouldn’t be the same and it wouldn’t be fun. You give a little kid goggles, and they go crazy. It’s special to see their faces.”
Ortiz, Jr. finished the contest with a record of 271-52-36-48 for $5,117,556 in prize money, for a win percentage of 19.19 percent and a winning percentage of 50.18 percent.
Flavien Prat, who finished second with 45 wins, had a great meet, recording a record 18 overall wins as well as a record 14 wins in ranking competitions, with a meet-leading total prize money of $6,610,757.
Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables won its 28th owner title at the NYRA meet and its seventh straight title at Spa. Each of its 18 wins have come with horses trained by Brown.
Among Klaravich Stables’ wins at the event were a Grade 1 win with Ways and Means in the Test and Domestic Product at the Allen Jerkens, along with a Grade 2 win with McKulick at the Glens Falls and Idea Generation at the Flower Bowl. Klarman also campaigned Curlin’s Unmatched Wisdom.
Brown spoke highly of his longtime client and expressed gratitude for Klarman’s support and patience.
“He deserves it so much,” Brown said. “He’s made it clear in every meeting that his goal is not to be a top owner. He just wants to develop good horses and do it the right way, put the horses first and never take unnecessary risks with the horses. Putting the welfare of the horses first has been consistent since we started working together. For him to win races and be a top owner doing it the right way with quality starts and quality horses, I think he’s a very deserving winner.”
Klaravich Stables finished the competition with a record of 61-18-10-6 and earnings of $2,175,928. Flying P Stable was second with 14 wins while Repole Stable was third with 7 wins.
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