After basically ignoring his dad’s 20-year riding career in Ohio, seemingly disinterested in following the same career path, something changed for Jefferson Skerrett in 2023.

Suddenly, and to the “shock” of his father, he wanted to be a jockey.

This weekend, the seven-pound apprentice will venture out of the state of Ohio for the first time, riding in four races over Monmouth Park’s three-day weekend.

On Friday’s eight-race card, the 21-year-old native of Bedford Heights, Ohio, is scheduled to ride the fifth race for trainer Holly Harris aboard Count My Blessings and the seventh race for Wayne Potts aboard Fully Committed.

He is listed on Sociably Johnny in the sixth race on Saturday for Derek Ryan and the fourth race on Sunday with Jersey-bred first-time starter Howitzer for Tim Hills.

“I’m a little bit nervous but I’m also excited. It’s a new experience. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

That Skerrett eventually did become a jockey makes perfect sense – though it didn’t happen as organically as it probably should have. His dad, Jeffrey Skerrett, rode 1,697 winners on the Ohio circuit from 1997-2017 and has been a trainer on the same circuit since 2019.

Since launching his riding career on Feb. 1 the younger Skerrett has 28 wins from 169 starters riding exclusive at the three Ohio tracks (Thistledown, Mahoning Valley and Belterra). He is currently seventh in the Thistledown rider standings with 18 wins from 88 mounts. He’s also coming off a four-win day last week at Thistledown.

“In the beginning he was not interested in riding or what I was doing,” said the elder Skerrett, who has 266 wins as a trainer. “It was not his intention to ride. When he graduated high school (in 2023) he said to me `I don’t know what I want to do.’ He told his mom (Dalma Lozada) the same thing and she said `go with your dad to the track.’

“When he showed up it was a shock to me.”

As if there wasn’t enough anxiety trying a new track outside his comfort zone, the younger Skerrett said this will be his first time away from home without either of his parents.

“I’ve never even been to Monmouth Park before either so the whole weekend will be a new experience for me,” said the younger Skerrett. “I want to get my name out there and this is an opportunity to do that. I want to spread my name to more places and keep progressing and improving.

“I have a lot of goals. I hope to be the leading rider at a few tracks. I want to win a Triple Crown race and ride in the Kentucky Derby and experience that.”

Despite the urging from his mom to try riding, Skerrett said “she’s nervous for me. I am her only child. But she’s excited for me, too.”

When Skerrett did make his career choice at 18 he headed straight to his dad’s barn, trying to absorb everything he could about life at the racetrack.

“He was a jockey who became a trainer so he was the perfect guy to work for when I got started,” he said.

His dad says he tries to view his son’s career objectively but there’s been a large enough sample size to see the ability.

“He’s real good,” said the elder Skerrett.