Caribbean-Born, Preakness Winning Jockey For Belmont Stakes

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. May 29, 2024: Caribbean born jockey, Jaime Torres, who made history at the Preakness Stakes on May 18th by securing a remarkable win aboard Seize the Grey just two years after he began his riding career, is set for the Belmont Stakes on June 8th.

Caribbean born Jockey Jaime Torres and Seize the Grey, are heading to the Belmont Stakes after winning the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 18, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Torrest and Seize the Grey are heading to Saratoga, according to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Seize The Grey with Torres won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The Puerto Rico native had previously guided Seize the Grey to victory in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 4th at Churchill Downs.

Despite never having ridden in a Triple Crown race before, Torres now boasts a perfect record of 1 for 1. On May 18th, he took the lead at the start of the race in Baltimore before a crowd of around 17,000 spectators and maintained his position throughout. He completed the 1 3/16 miles on a muddy track in 1:56.82, paying $21.60 for the win.

Seize the Grey, owned by the MyRacehorse microshare partnership of over 2,700 people, was bred in Kentucky by Jamm, LTD, and purchased by MyRacehorse for $300,000 from Mill Ridge Sales at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale in 2022.

Torres decided to pursue a career as a jockey in 2019 after watching horse racing on television from Hipódromo Camarero. The next day, he went to the track and eventually enrolled in Puerto Rico’s riding school. He then moved to Florida, working for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., and won his first race on September 17, 2022, at Gulfstream Park on Takestwotowiggle. The following year, he was the leading apprentice in New York. Now he is a Triple Crown race-winning jockey.

Due to construction at the track, the 2024 Belmont Stakes will take place at Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York. With the change in venue comes a change in distance, as the Belmont Stakes 2024 will be contested over 1 1/4 miles instead of the usual 1 1/2. It marks just the second time over the last 99 years that the Run for the Carnations is being held at a distance less than 1 1/2 miles.

2024 Belmont Stakes odds:

Horse Odds
Sierra Leone 7-4
Fierceness 3-1
Mystik Dan 5-1
Seize the Grey 6-1
Thorpedo Anna 10-1
Antiquarian 12-1
Honor Marie 12-1
The Wine Steward 18-1