Jose Ferrer to Receive Woolf Award

Jockey Jose Ferrer, a mainstay on the East Coast dating back to 1982, will receive the 2018 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award at Santa Anita Park April 15 in a winner's circle ceremony between races.

Ferrer, 54, outpolled fellow riders Alex Birzer, Javier Castellano, Rodney Prescott, and Joe Talamo to win the 69th Woolf Award, which was instituted by Santa Anita in 1950 to honor riders whose careers and personal character bring credit not only to themselves, but to the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

Born March 31, 1964, Ferrer is a proponent of the power of positive thinking and views each day as a God-given opportunity to contribute to a sport that has provided him a magnificent career. With more than 4,200 wins to his credit, Ferrer is currently based at Tampa Bay Downs. Second in the rider standings during the summer of 2017 at Monmouth Park, Ferrer has rebounded from serious injuries sustained during a spill at Delaware Park in September.

The 2018 Woolf Award Trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue that adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area. The Woolf Award memorializes one of the greatest riders of all time, George Woolf, who died the morning after a spill on Santa Anita's clubhouse turn Jan. 3, 1946.