A whirlwind year that has already featured Ferrin Peterson's ascension from apprentice rider to contender for meet-leading honors on a major circuit will present yet another opportunity, as the California native will move her tack to New York for the first time when she competes at Aqueduct Racetrack's fall meet.
Peterson will join one of the world's most competitive jockey colonies for the 18-day meet at the Big A that commences Friday, Nov. 6 and runs through Dec. 6, offering 29 stakes including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 million in purse money.
This year started with Peterson as an apprentice jockey with 15 career wins to her credit and no mounts until July because of COVID-19-related postponements of living racing around the country. But Peterson made up for lost time, registering 42 wins during the summer at Monmouth Park, registering the meet's second-highest mark behind longtime New Jersey-circuit veteran Paco Lopez's 51 victories.
The 28-year-old Peterson's success resulted in her losing her bug and apprentice status but gained her notice from the racing community, especially after she notched her first stakes win aboard Share the Ride in the Mr. Prospector on September 12.
Peterson will now head to New York armed with both recent success and with the support of someone who knows exactly what it's like to try and establish herself in a New York jockey's room full of Eclipse Award champions and Grade 1-winners, as Hall of Famer Julie Krone is her agent.
“I think now, I've improved navigating races,” Peterson said. “Before, I was on a lot of longshots, so you can't really use them to go through holes or position them where you want because you just don't have enough horse underneath you. Now that I get to ride live horses, I can maneuver a race much better, and Julie's been a great teacher for that. It's been cool to be able to think through a race more and use those tactics.”
Peterson's road to the Big Apple won't be as far – literally and figuratively – as her move from her native California to the Jersey Shore to compete at Monmouth. Last year, Peterson completed her veterinary studies at U.C. Davis. The well-earned title of doctor was the culmination of a varied athletic and educational path that started in Roseville, California, where Peterson rode horses in the English style and Dressage. She attended high school in Oakmont, where she set a school record as a pole vaulter, and attended college at the University of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo while earning a degree in animal science before heading to medical school, where she received U.C. Davis' Zoetis Equine Scholarship and secured an externship in Japan, allowing her to tour training centers, rehab facilities and thoroughbred farms while also attending the Nippon Derby.
Presented with the opportunity to start her post-doctorate medical career, Peterson was drawn back to race riding, which started in 2018 with 10 wins in 144 starts riding all across California, racking up victories at Golden Gate, Fresno, Oak Tree At Pleasanton, while also riding in a pair of races at Del Mar.
“I like to do things unconventionally in general and be different and whatever you're passionate about, you should pursue that,” Peterson said. “I don't regret becoming a veterinarian [and delaying her racing career] because I'm also passionate about that and sometimes people think you should focus on one thing in life, but I think I benefit from having multiple things going on in my life, and they complement each other.
“In vet school, I had a lot of people who were giving me a hard time about trying to do both, but now that I've been able to achieve it, it means a lot more that my story can be spread and I can encourage other people, because it's always easy to find people who will doubt you,” she added.
After five wins in 96 starts last year, Peterson came to the East Coast this year and competed for a riding crown on a major circuit.
“It's a nice surprise; in my career so far, I've just seen an open door and keep pursuing it,” Peterson said. “I thought I wouldn't be a jockey after vet school and do veterinary medicine full-time, but I kept seeing opportunities and having people believe in me, so I tried going full time as a jockey and then I met Julie Krone and had a successful meet, so that's been the story of my jockey career. Just having that support system is what keeps me going, and now I'm all-in.”
Peterson said her educational background has also proved beneficial on the track itself.
“Just having that veterinary knowledge and being able to have those conversations with trainers and owners, I think they do appreciate that,” Peterson said. “The more you work on horses, on the ground or on their back, the more in-tune you are with them. They are just such complex animals. It's great to be able to understand what they are going through and talk about rehabilitation procedures and be able to offer different ideas and approaches to trainers with integrated medicines. It's been cool to see that develop.”
Krone can impart lessons on following an unconventional path to success after a trailblazing career that saw her achieve many milestones for female jockeys. The Benton Harbor, Michigan native was the first woman to win an American Classic when she piloted Colonial Affair to a win in the 1993 Belmont Stakes and 10 years later was the first woman to win a Breeders' Cup race aboard Halfbridled in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.
A 2000 Hall of Fame inductee, Krone was successful across many tracks but especially in the Metropolitan area, winning riding titles at Monmouth from 1987-89 before becoming the first woman to win five races in one day at a New York track. Overall, Krone won riding titles at Belmont Park, Monmouth Park, Atlantic City and the Meadowlands and said she's hoping Peterson could eventually follow a similar trajectory.
“We're so excited to be in this jockey colony and to be in New York, it's perfect for us and we're really looking forward to the fall meet,” Krone said. “I've been on the backside of Belmont every morning and the future is exciting and hopefully we can continue that success at Aqueduct that we had at Monmouth.”
Krone, who won 3,704 career races, said handling the elements at the Big A can be challenging but soon becomes just part of what any jockey needs to handle to be successful.
“You'd think someone from Northern California wouldn't want to deal with the snow and cold like that,” Krone said with a laugh. “But we were talking to [fellow Hall of Famer] Ramon Dominguez the other day about how long it took him to get used to it. You do get used to it fast and with the purses being so big at Aqueduct and the racing being so good, you don't even think about the weather because you're paying attention to other stuff.”
Like Peterson, Krone started her career with successful stints on other circuits before coming to New York. Krone won more than 100 races every year from 1981-86 before becoming a regular at Aqueduct in 1987, where she won 15 races that year, including the Grade 2 Gallant Fox with Soar to the Stars.
Krone said Peterson has developed an acute ability to read a race and make a winning move.
“She has a great understanding of how a race unfolds and she gets along with every horse, regardless of their personalities, if they are nervous fillies or strong colts,” Krone said. “She gets along with every horse. We talked about different race scenarios and within one race, she applies what she learns. She's a fast learner and has a great work ethic and we're going into this meet with [momentum], for sure.
“She's so mentally tough,” she added. “One time she fell at the quarter-pole, but she was OK and the horse was OK, and she came back and won the next two races. I said, 'she's so tough.' I see a lot of qualities I had as a jockey. People really like her and she never makes the same mistake twice. She's sharp and heads up. Everyone enjoys her company, but she's tough as nails and so consistent. She loves riding racehorses and loves being at the track.”
Peterson said she's hoping to follow a path Krone blazed and said having an increased support system has made a huge difference as she's progressed in her career.
“Having her believe that I can make this step now, it's so important,” Peterson said. “I asked her if she thought we were ready, and she said this is how you make that step; you go there in the winter and get recognized there and if it goes well, you can transition into riding there in the spring and summer.
“I think whenever you have to face elements and less ideal situations, it just makes you mentally tougher,” she added. “I like pushing myself outside my comfort zone. If you asked me months before if I could ride in a facemask in July on the East Coast where it's humid, I didn't think I'd be capable of that riding 12 races on a card. But I did it quite a few weekends and never had a problem. As long as you stay present in your mindset and focus on what you can control; it's all about mental training. Just buckle down and do the best you can.”
Peterson will enter a room that counts the winners of the last seven Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey as regulars in New York, with brothers Jose and Irad Ortiz, Jr. joining Hall of Famer Javier Castellano. Other decorated riders who are expected to square off against Peterson during the Aqueduct meet are jockeys such as Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Manny Franco, who has won NYRA's year-end riding title two years in a row, as well as veterans such as Jose Lezcano, Junior Alvarado and Kendrick Carmouche among others.
“One of the main reasons I wanted to step into the NYRA circuit – and one of the reasons I went to the Southern California circuit – was to challenge myself,” she said. “It didn't work out great that time [California] because I didn't have much momentum going into it and didn't have an agent. But the circumstances have changed for me and I improved as a jockey, and now I have a shot and I'm around people who make me that much better. When I'm competing amongst the best, it pushes me that much harder. I know I'll learn so much that way.”
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