“I had 100% confidence. I knew what I had underneath me,” said Jockey Junior Alvarado after winning the G2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. The July 26 race was among the highlights of the 2025 Saratoga racing season, as the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty kicked off his summer campaign at the iconic racetrack. But just two days later, tragedy struck the iconic New York Venue.

“It is with deep sadness that our stable confirms that Dazzle d’Oro sustained a catastrophic injury this morning during training,” trainer Tom Amoss wrote on July 28. And that one injury was all it took for one of the G2 Saratoga Special’s most promising entrants to meet his demise. Amoss explained that the severity of the injury left them with no choice, and now Jose Ortiz has made his decision about the upcoming race.

The Daily Racing Form’s David Grening confirmed that the ESPY-winning rider will indeed compete in the upcoming race on Saturday. “Jose Ortiz will ride Ewing after the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Dazzle d’Oro,” Grening wrote on X. However, one thing to note is that the jockey had originally decided to ride Ewing in the race anyway.

Right before the tragic training incident, DRF’s David Aragona posted about Ortiz making the switch. “Some interesting decisions(?) from @jose93ortiz  on Whitney day. Taking off Ewing to ride Dazzle d’Oro in the Saratoga Special and taking off Think Big to ride My Boy Prince in the Fourstardave,” the reporter wrote. Unfortunately, no one had a clue what would transpire at Saratoga.

David Grenig also had an update for the horse Ortiz chose for the Fourstardave Stakes. “Ortiz took the call on My Boy Prince before the connections of Think Big committed to this race. They were leaning toward KY Downs,” the DFR reporter informed. Yet, as the 2022 Preakness Stakes winner prepares for a big day of racing, not just Dazzle d’Oro but two more deaths cast a long shadow at Saratoga.

A delayed tragedy at Saratoga

Shorty after Dazzle d’Oro’s demise, the New York Racing Association, Inc. released an official statement that named not one, not two, but three horses. Besides the two-year-old colt who was slated to run the Saratoga Special, National Secret suffered the same fate while training at Saratoga. However, the press release focused on the upsetting conclusion of Aterradora’s story.

The horse arrived at Saratoga after winning his maiden weight debut in February and followed it with two top-five finishes at Churchill Downs. While the horse once again finished in the top five, coming in 5th at the G3 Lake George Stakes, things went downhill after the race. Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. noticed his horse was in distress, and the medical crew attended to the horse.

Just like Dazzle d’Oro, the equine ambulance transferred Aterradora to the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for further evaluation. Unfortunately, things only got worse from there as initial radiography and CAT scans found a “slab fracture” in Aterradora’s right knee. Yet, when the doctors got the horse to the operating table to fix the fracture, they discovered the injury was worse than the scans showed.

Ultimately, on July 28, Aterradora’s team chose to end the animal’s suffering. “Upon the recommendation of attending veterinarians, Aterradora was humanely euthanized,” the NYRA wrote in its official press release. So, as exciting as the racing season at Saratoga is shaping up to be, three deaths will leave a lasting impact on the community.