February’s Jockey of the Month is Tammi Piermarini, who has had a string of winners recently, including three victories on the February 8 card. “I liked my shots (that day),” the mother of two said after her third win. “This filly (Zahira) ran well last time. (Por Favor) had a bad trip last time and the first horse (Tis Premixed) ran third two times back and just needed a good trip.”
Born on May 2, 1967 in Newbury Port, MA, Piermarini’s love of horses started in her youth in Salisbury, MA, where she spent time with show horses. She began exercise riding Thoroughbreds at Suffolk Downs for various trainers there, and rode her first winner, Go Darby and Joan, there in 1985. Tammi Piermarini has since garnered success at almost every major racetrack in North America, including Belmont Park (where she equaled a track record at 1/16 miles with Tour D’Or), Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct, Santa Anita, Saratoga, Bay Meadows, Garden State Park, and the Meadowlands, but to name a few.
She also reached the career milestone of 1,500 wins that every jockey dreams of here at Tampa Bay Downs. She took some time off in 2001 to care for her new baby, and returned to riding after. She has since had another child, a son, and is once again in the irons for the races. Piermarini’s family consists of her husband (and agent) John and her daughter Izabell and son Johnny Vincent. She is already in the top ten of the Tampa Bay Downs jockey standings for the current meet, and she is reaping the rewards of a return to the track. Tammi Piermarini is currently ranked fifth among the nation’s leading female jockeys.
When she is not riding at Tampa Bay Downs, Tammi and her family live in BostonMassachusetts, where she pilots horses at Suffolk Downs.