Jockey Jose C. Ferrer is coming “home” this weekend. At least that’s how the ageless wonder views his Saturday return to Monmouth Park, the track that launched his riding career in 1982.

Listed to ride five horses on Saturday, the 62-year-old Ferrer had been a fixture at the Jersey Shore track from 1982 through 2023 (he returned to ride one weekend in 2024) before opting to stay in Florida to ride at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park the past two years.

Now he’s back and eager to renew old acquaintances.

“No question I’ve missed not being here,” said Ferrer. “It’s not easy for me to be watching simulcasting at Gulfstream and Monmouth Park is on the TV screen and I’m not there.

“It’s nice to be back. I got a few calls from trainers who thought I should come back to Monmouth because there were some opportunities available with some jockeys going out of town. They said things were wide open and that I could take advantage of it.

“My wife (Steffi) and I talked about it and we decided I should come back.”

Convincing his wife to return, he acknowledged, wasn’t all that difficult. She grew up in Long Branch and her father was the equipment manager at Monmouth University for two decades.

Staying year-round in Florida the past two years was a family decision, since his two boys – 11-year-old Derak and 10-year-old Joseph – were in school in Tampa. It also gave him a chance to watch them participate in various sports.

“But this is home for all of us. It always has been,” he said of Monmouth.

When Ferrer does resume riding at Monmouth Park he will do so with 4,863 career victories. Before he is even asked about reaching the 5,000-win career milestone he insists his focus is on getting to 4,900 first.

According to Equibase, 38 North American jockeys have reached 5,000 wins.

“It would be huge to get to 5,000,” said Ferrer, who won the Monmouth Park riding title in 2019, “I’m going to try for it. But if it doesn’t happen I’ll be happy with winning more than 4,800 races.

“For now, the goal is to get to 4,900. After that we’ll see.”

Retirement, he said, may be looming as soon as next year. In anticipation of that, following the end of the Monmouth Park meet Ferrer will be attending the Racing Officials Accreditation Program in Lexington, Ky., from Sept 27 through Oct. 4 with the goal of eventually becoming a steward.

“I think I can bring a lot to the job as a steward with my experience,” said Ferrer. “I speak Spanish so I can communicate with jockeys in their language.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Ferrer arrived in the United States in 1981 as a hotwalker. He began his career the following summer, with his first career ride coming at Monmouth Park on June 30, 1982.

The 2018 George Woolf Memorial Award winner finished in the top 10 of the rider standings at Monmouth Park every year from 2013 to 2023.

“I have so many good memories from Monmouth Park,” said Ferrer, who plans on staying through the end of the meet. “That’s why I’d love to get to 4,900 here. It has been a special place for me.”