Pletcher, Castellano, Irad Ortiz Jr. take titles at Belmont spring/summer meet

Pletcher, Castellano, Irad Ortiz Jr. take titles at Belmont

spring/summer meet

The Belmont spring/summer jockey title came to a thrilling

conclusion when Irad Ortiz Jr. got up in the final jumps of the last race of

the meet to tie Javier Castellano at 51 wins. Meanwhile, Todd Pletcher padded

his resume with another training title.

Castellano, who also won the 2013 Belmont spring/summer

meet title, earned Grade 1 scores in the Manhattan aboard Real Solution and Just a Game aboard Coffee Clique. The

Grade 3 Poker

rounded out a trio of graded wins at the meet for Castellano, who won

aboard the Pletcher-trained Jack Milton in one of 12 victories the two shared.

Ortiz captured a bevy of stakes races, including

the Grade 1 Acorn (Sweet Reason), Grade 3 Dwyer (Kid Cruz) and Grade 3 Bed O'

Roses (Hot Stones), to go along with wins in the Perfect Sting (Joy), Dancin

Renee (La Verdad), Wild Applause (Walk Close), Easy Goer (Kid Cruz), Jersey Girl

(Red Velvet), Wonder Again (Sea Queen) and Paradise Creek (Green Mask).

Joel Rosario finished third with 42 wins, and Jose Ortiz,

Irad Ortiz's younger brother, finished fourth with 41.

Pletcher cruised to the finish on Sunday with a four-win

advantage, besting Chad Brown 28-24. A blend of promising juveniles and salty

veterans helped provide Pletcher with another meet title. The trainer unveiled a

slew of debut winners, including the Mike Repole-owned Nonna's Boy, and scored a

signature win in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap with Palace Malice, the

winner of last year's Belmont Stakes.

Christophe Clement, who won the 2014 Belmont Stakes with

Tonalist, finished third with 21 wins.

Michael Dubb dominated the owner's standings by winning 11

races, four more than his closest competitor.

Racing resumes Friday at historic Saratoga

Race Course.

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