Jose Ferrer with his son at the Tampa Bay Downs just after a race. (Erin Murray/Spectrum Bay News 9)TAMPA, Fla. — Race days Tampa Bay Downs are fast, loud, and above all else fun. 

There are usually more than 10 races a day, all of difference prominence. But every so often, there is a really big race. The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is one of those big races. 

It comes with a $400,000 purse. A win in a race like that can change lives. 

“For the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby victory, that was a big day," said Jose Ferrer, a jockey. "That was amazing. Thank you God, again, and again, and again.”

Ferrer rode Helium in that race back on March 6. His odds were 15 to 1 — not great. 

“You never expect to be there, and to winning, it's just amazing. It was completely one of the best days of my life," said Ferrer. 

Ferrer won, edging out the favorite, Hidden Stash. Ferrer qualified Helium for a spot in the Kentucky Derby, and did it in the final furlongs of his career. 

“At my age 56 to be in the (Lambholm South Tampa Bay) Derby," he said in disbelief, "I don’t think anybody my age would be in the top of a derby.” 

Ferrer is a stable at Tampa Bay Downs. The fans, the workers, it's hard to find a person who doesn't know him. 

Being a jockey seemed to always be what Ferrer was destined for. 

"I am five feet tall," laughed Ferrer. "I was trying to be a baseball player believe it or not, but I was not tall enough.”

Being a jockey runs in his family. 

“We got five jockeys in the family. My uncle was a jockey, my cousin was a jockey, I got three more cousins who were riders," said Ferrer. 

Even now well into his 50s, he just keeps winning. He is beating jockeys more than half his age. He has won over 5,000 races. 

“I think Jose is one of the best riders. His experience, I think, is undervalued," said Steffi Ferrer, Jose’s wife.

But just three years before all this success, it was almost all over. 

“Almost 15 lengths off the leader as they make their way into the turn," said an announcer at Delaware Park on September 14, 2019. "They race into the turn and oh a horse went down!” 

Ferrer and four other jockeys went down in a big crash in a race. 

“Eight ribs, and fractured three vertebrae. My lung collapsed and I was in bed for ... I was in really bad shape," said Ferrer. 

Ferrer was in intensive care for a week and told he might never ride again. 

“But I was back riding in two months," laughs Ferrer with a sly smile. "People can’t believe it. I was back here, in fact I rode my first horse after my injury, two months later here in Tampa Bay Downs.”

But why even come back? For Ferrer that is simple: his family. 

"I can’t do it without her," said Ferrer with tears in his eyes. He has to pause from the interview to wipe his eyes and walks over to Steffi. 

“Hi poo, poo," said Steffi lovingly. "Love you."

"I love you too," he said before returning. 

When Ferrer barrels toward a finish line, he always works to win for his wife and two boys. 

"Always keeping each other first," said Steffi. "The sacrifice you make, just because you love a person so much.”

His sons are Derek and Joseph, 6 and 5. 

“I am so excited, I think daddy is going to win this one for real," said Derek, watching his dad make his way out on the track. 

“Hey boys. Love you," Ferrer yells to them. 

"Hey daddy. Love you, love you," the boys yell back in unison. 

Those little voices, combined with Steffi's push him to the finish line each time. They push him to be the best, and get horses like Helium to be their best. 

“I look at my wife, I say honey we did it. I praise the man upstairs and say, 'Thank you so much Lord, thank you Lord.' I did win it. So all kinds of emotions," said Ferrer. 

But Ferrer's story, when it comes to Helium, ends in Florida. He won't be the jockey on board Helium in the run for the roses. 

"Mixed emotions," said Ferrer, when asked how it feels to not be riding Helium in the Super Bowl of horse races. “But you know what, I am thinking I am looking at pictures I got. All the memories I made.”

Race day is fast. It is loud. But most of all for jockey Jose Ferrer, it's full of love. 

The Kentucky Derby is Saturday, May 1 at 6:57 p.m. 

Helium's odds in the Kentucky Derby are 50 to 1. He is being ridden by Julien R. Leparoux.