Eclipse Award winner Rosemary Homeister Jr., who is married to Ferrer and is also based at Calder, was the only female jockey invited for the challenge and placed seventh as the United States representative among the region’s elite riders. In 2001, Homeister became the first female jockey to win Puerto Rico’s illustrious Clasico Internacional de Caribe, the "Caribbean Derby," when she guided Alexia (Pan) to a neck victory. This year’s edition of the race will be run at El Comandante on Sunday.

The jockey challenge, which comprised races four through seven, was named in honor of Racing Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr., who was born in Puerto Rico.

Ferrer guided Prospector’s Gold to victory in the first race of the challenge to earn his first initial 12 points, then added another six points to his credit when placing second aboard Fogueo P in the fifth race, and racked up eight more points when piloting Strawberry Star and Stormin' Sir to third-place finishes in the sixth and seventh races, respectively, to achieve a total of 26 points to clinch the title.

He was followed in standings by Javier Santiago (Puerto Rico), who earned 20 points; Camilo Pitty (Panama), 14; Juan Carlos Diaz (Puerto Rico), 13; Joel Rosario (Dominican Repoublic), 8; Emisael Jaramillo (Venezuela), 6; Rosemary Homeister Jr. (United States), 5; Luis Perlaza (Colombia), 4; Angel A. Castillo (Venezuela), 3; and Jesus Barria (Panama), 0.

During the presentation ceremony, Ferrer, Santiago, and Pitty received gold, silver, and bronze medals for their respective finishes and their representing national flags were raised during the playing of the Puerto Rican and Panamanian national anthems.—Michael Burns