Jessica Pyfer, the champion apprentice jockey of 2021, announced her retirement last week and has accepted a position as a commentator on Santa Anita’s in-house television network. Pyfer, 25, had her final mounts at a jockey competition in Spain in late September. She had her final mount in the United States at Del Mar in early August. Pyfer began riding in fall 2020 and won 88 races from 819 mounts in the United States in her career. She had her best season in 2021, winning 59 races. Last year, Pyfer won 11 races. She was winless with 10 domestic mounts this year. Pyfer ranked as high as sixth in the jockey standings at the 2020-21 winter-spring meeting at Santa Anita with 36 wins. Later in 2021, she finished 10th in the standings at the Del Mar summer meeting and the Santa Anita autumn meeting. Pyfer lost her apprentice status in November 2021 and struggled to gain mounts in 2022. :: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, Picks, and more. Shop Now.  “I came into it knowing that everyone goes through a tough time,” she said of the transition after her apprentice term. “I was aware of it. I thought winning the Eclipse Award would help me a little more. “I was okay for the first month or two after I [lost] my bug. Then, it slowly tapered off.” In the fall of 2022, Pyfer began working on the in-house television network at Santa Anita as well as exercising horses on a daily basis for her stepfather, Phil D’Amato, and Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. Pyfer was part of the commentary team at the track’s winter-spring season earlier this year. She said over the weekend that she plans to continue riding in the mornings. “I don’t think I could ever stop that,” Pyfer said. “I’ve always enjoyed the mornings more than riding races. “I’m more of a hands-on person. I get on the same seven horses every morning. I like getting to know one horse and find out their quirks. I like the projects. “I like the one-on-one of getting to know them completely. As a jockey, you’re on their back for 10 minutes.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.