Jose Ferrer returns to Monmouth Park, still riding five mounts

Jose C. Ferrer came back to Monmouth Park with five mounts, and that is the part that matters most for the meet. He was not there as a ceremonial name on the program. Monmouth listed the 62-year-old veteran to ride Saturday, a reminder that a jockey with 4,863 career wins can still move the racing product at the Jersey Shore track.

That practicality is why Ferrer’s return carried more than nostalgia. Monmouth said he had been a fixture there from 1982 through 2023, came back for one weekend in 2024, then spent the last two years riding in Florida at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park. Ferrer said trainers called because “things were wide open” at Monmouth, with some riders leaving town, and he and his wife, Steffi, decided together that it was time to go back. Monmouth said Steffi grew up in Long Branch and that her father worked for two decades as Monmouth University’s equipment manager, which makes Ferrer’s return feel rooted in the track’s day-to-day life, not just its history.

The numbers show he is still very much part of the present tense. Equibase listed Ferrer with 32,703 starts, 4,863 wins and $89,003,115 in earnings as of late June. He is 137 wins from 5,000, a club Monmouth said only 38 North American jockeys have reached. Ferrer said his short-term target is 4,900, with 5,000 something to think about later, and he acknowledged retirement could come as soon as next year.

The local connection runs deep because Ferrer’s career started there. Monmouth said his first U.S. ride came at the track on June 30, 1982, after he began as a hotwalker in 1981. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 31, 1964, he became the first jockey to win five races on a single Meadowlands card on Nov. 24, 1983, and later captured major Monmouth stakes such as the Red Bank Stakes, Monmouth Oaks, Oceanport Stakes and Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup Stakes. He won Monmouth’s riding title in 2019 and finished in the top 10 in the standings every year from 2013 through 2023.

Ferrer also has a next chapter mapped out. After the meet, Monmouth said he planned to attend the Racing Officials Accreditation Program in Lexington, Kentucky, from Sept. 27 through Oct. 4, an early step toward becoming a steward. For now, though, Monmouth gets the veteran presence that comes with a familiar face, a deep book, and a rider who still expects to be in the irons when the races go off.