Friday, January 16, 2026
HALLANDALE BEACH - Three-time leading rider and former track record-holder Luis Saez made a triumphant return to Gulfstream Park Thursday, riding a winner to open the card in his first mount of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet.
The 33-year-old Saez guided 3-year-old colt Fuoco Vivo ($13.60) to a front-running 3 ¾-length triumph in a five-furlong maiden sprint that was rained off the grass to the all-weather Tapeta course. The winning time was :57.62 seconds.
“I’m so grateful to be back here at Gulfstream,” Saez said. “This horse broke pretty well from the outside and he took me to the lead. He’s very fast and he took me all the way to victory.”
Saez added a second winner with Sound of the Beast ($) in Race 6. Both horses are trained by Rohan Crichton.
Saez won back-to-back Championship Meet riding titles in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, the latter with 137 victories, a single-season record that was broken by Irad Ortiz Jr.’s 140 three years later. Saez also finished first with 122 wins in 2021-2022.
Last winter, Saez ranked second with $4.38 million in purse earnings and third with 70 wins from 422 mounts, including a victory aboard Tappan Street in the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby. He is based this winter at Oaklawn Park, which does not resume racing until Dec. 30.
At Oaklawn, Saez sits second in purse earnings ($1.12 million) and third in wins (14) from 73 mounts, four wins behind leader Christian Torres.
“It always feels great to be back,” Saez said. “I miss this place. I had to move my tack to Oaklawn, but I’ll be around.”
Approaching 3,900 career victories, Saez said he plans to ride at Gulfstream through the end of the month. Among other mounts on Pegasus World Cup day, he will back aboard Tappan Street for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 24.
“I was off for two weeks and took the time to see my mom and dad in Panama,” he said. “I start here today for the Pegasus and all those big races, just getting ready.”
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