Jessica Pyfer began her riding career later than some apprentices, not until her 20s, but her maturity and riding talent led her to become the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice rider of 2021. Honored in a ceremony Feb. 10 at Santa Anita Park, she became just the third female to win the coveted prize for apprentices, following Rosemary Homeister Jr. in 1992 and Emma-Jayne Wilson in 2005.
Pyfer, 23, led all North American apprentices by mount earnings last year and also ranked second by wins. She rode 56 winners from 535 mounts through the end of her apprentice allowance Nov. 13 and had earnings of $2,738,863.
Counting statistics after she lost her weight allowance as an apprentice, she finished the year with 59 wins from 557 rides. Her mounts earned $2,857,333.
A graduate of Azusa Pacific University with a degree in political science and a minor in constitutional law, Pyfer was also a quick study on the racetrack. After winning her first race Oct. 9, 2020, at Santa Anita, she became an in-demand rider at the major Southern California tracks of Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Los Alamitos Race Course.
Last May, she set what is believed to be a record in Southern California by becoming the first female apprentice rider to win four races in a single day. She finished the Santa Anita 2020-21 winter/spring meet tied for sixth in the standings.
