First episode of ‘The Boundless Podcast’ features hour-long interview with Steve Cauthen, with Chris McCarron and Pat Day coming soon
Ferrin Peterson, the professional rider known as the ‘Vet Jockey’ for her multiple roles within the industry, has discovered her range of skills are indeed ‘boundless’.
A jockey by day and veterinarian by night, the 32-year-old has now found time in her hectic schedule to become a podcaster. Peterson has this week launched ‘The Boundless Podcast’, a series of hour-long face-to-face interviews with some of the biggest names in horse racing.
Scrubs or silks? Ferrin Peterson is enjoying the best of both worlds in the bluegrass state
The first of 12 programmes features the legendary Steve Cauthen, the Triple Crown-winning jockey who went on to cement his status as one of the greatest of all time when moving to Britain, where he also won the Epsom Derby twice.
Chris McCarron, Pat Day, Patti Cooksey, Sandy Hawley and Perry Ouzts are set to appear in future episodes, when they dip into their extensive back catalogue of stories to illuminate Peterson’s podcast.
“I met the videographer who I am working with, Jacob Ames, through the boxers that I train with,” says Peterson. “They were using him to produce promotional videos for them and he started getting into the racing industry.
“He found my story interesting and created my website which features a showreel of Steve Cauthen, Chris McCarron and Ramon Dominguez talking about my riding, which I wanted to use to promote myself to trainers.”
It wasn’t necessarily a success, as she admits, saying: “It made no difference. They’ve seen me win on enough horses in Kentucky and they ask me to prep their best horses for the Grade 1s. I just don’t get the mounts.
“Seeing this as an outsider, Jacob said why don’t I start a podcast? So part of it is about having the credibility to have these conversations with these Hall of Fame riders and part of it is about inspiring new people into the racing industry.”
Peterson reveals that she and videographer Ames would record interviews in batches. “We would do a bunch of interviews over three days,” she says. “We drove to Keeneland, Churchill Downs and Godolphin's Jonabell Farm. We have put together six months’ worth of interviews so we could release them every two weeks for consistency.
Inspiring stories
“They are inspiring stories. The people I talk to were able to go deep into their struggles and how they overcame them.”
Peterson is seeking financial backing for the project which so far has been put together in her own time and with her own money.
“So far it’s me working ER shifts at night and riding races, at the same trying to get the funding to get it going,” she explains. “It’s something I believe in, being able to educate and inspire. I have always wanted to build a platform as an athlete. I see that more in other sports but not a lot in US jockeys.
“I thought I could do it once I was riding graded horses as then I would have a credible stand to be on, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to be riding those graded stakes horses in their races so I am going to start now.”
Peterson, from Sacramento in California, has been practising as Dr Ferrin Peterson, DVM, CVA, since making her base in Kentucky.
Although all her off-track work was initially as an equine vet, her weekly routine is now split between the racetrack and small animal veterinary hospitals where she works shifts.
“I was doing equine for several years but that’s morning and afternoon work, so in order to work it around my riding schedule I found the small animal ER last year,” explains the rider also known as the ‘Doc Jock’.
“It’s kind of like riding a race where you have to make quick decisions and then move onto the next thing and not get stuck on your last regret – or your last success.
“I work evening shifts and sometimes I’m there till 3am, sometimes 6am, usually a couple of days a week.
“They are flexible,” she adds. “But I had one day last year where I slept for one hour because by the time I was done in the ER overnight in Louisville, I had to drive to Turfway Park to breeze and then I had two rides at Belterra Park. I nearly won on one of them, which was a big longshot.
“I do want to continue to pursue the ER work, even when I am travelling around when my riding picks up in the spring and the summer.”
However, 2025 has started quietly for Peterson as she inches her way back from the accident in August in which she broke and displaced her collarbone when the horse she was riding in a race at Thistledown suffered a fatal injury.
As a result, her seasonal score was limited to 27 winners but riding remains her number one priority, even while she has an additional sideline. “I started riding races back in the last month and a half,” she says.
“It’s slow as I try to get momentum back and I am just getting back into the swing of things. I am still going through some treatment but all in all I can do 100 push-ups and I can do pull-ups so it’s coming along.”
• Visit the Ferrin Peterson website
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