Healthy again, Ferrer showing age is just a number

Never in 35 years of riding had Jose Ferrer been injured so badly. A September spill left Ferrer with eight fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, but the jockey has healed with a vengeance.

“I feel better than I ever have,” said Ferrer, 53. “Getting hurt like that, it makes you appreciate what you have. Your eyes are open big.”

Ferrer was hospitalized for about two weeks following the Sept. 14 spill, which involved five horses at Delaware Park. He was determined to return as quickly as possible, and 11 weeks later – on Dec. 1 – he was back riding races at Tampa Bay Downs, where he has been a top-five jockey for years.

Through Sunday, Ferrer had ridden 13 winners from 52 mounts, good for fourth in the meet standings at the Oldsmar, Fla., track. His 25 percent win rate is tops among all riders with at least 30 mounts at the five-month meet, which runs through May 6.

“When you’re in the hospital, you lay in bed and think things over,” said Ferrer, a Puerto Rico native who has racked up nearly 4,200 wins and $71.4 million in mount earnings since he began riding in the United States in 1982. “You realize how good you have it and how blessed you are.

“Before this, the worst injury I’d ever had was a hairline fracture in my wrist. That was back in the 80s, so, yes, I’ve been very lucky. I had a lot of people who helped me out and prayed for me, especially my wife, Steffi, and my two young boys. I’m very grateful to everyone.”

Ferrer said he has no timetable for retirement. He long has taken especially good care of himself, and as a natural lightweight (112 pounds), he is not worn down by undertaking the harsh reducing measures that heavier jockeys have to endure.

“I’m really enjoying my job,” he said. “I love to compete with the young kids. They’ll say, ‘I’m going to beat you, old man,’ and I say, ‘No, I’m going to kick your ass.’ It’s so much fun. To be alive, to enjoy your health – you cannot take it for granted.”