Honoring A Love For Thoroughbred Horses
By Carolyn Sawai
Jonathan Ferrini, a dedicated philanthropist, has made a tremendous impact on advancing animal health at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine since 2005. Most recently, with his bequest, he will establish the Dante and Sharon Ferrini Endowed Chair—honoring his late parents who were Thoroughbred horse enthusiasts.
“Some of my fondest memories growing up are when my parents took my sister and me horseback riding and to the racetracks,” Jonathan said. “We enjoyed the competition and the athleticism of these magnificent Thoroughbreds.”
He describes his parents as competitive by nature. His father was an excellent athlete who lettered in three sports in high school—baseball, basketball and football. His mother enjoyed competing in beauty pageants.
Dante and Sharon were drawn to experiencing the thrill of horse races. Dante would spend hours studying data and pouring over charts in a daily horse racing journal as he prepared to wager on races.
The Ferrinis lived in a home adjacent to horse stables and facing the Angeles National Forest in Southern California. Jonathan considers his family fortunate to have had the opportunity to see equine athletes up close.
He credits his mother for inspiring his love of animals. She had a special place in her heart for their family pets. Through the years, Jonathan adopted several homeless dogs and cats and feels that they changed his life forever. In their memory, he established an endowment to create the Belzer, Duke, Midas, Thomas and Willy Ferrini Award for Genetic Research—recognizing exceptional, promising scientists who will utilize genetics as the foundation of understanding and treating diseases that will help pets like those he cherished.
One final special memory that Jonathan has of his father is their visit to the sportsbook at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seated in the large room, Dante had a big smile on his face as he watched several horse races at the same time on the large screens, reminding him of the good times he spent at the race tracks. Jonathan recounted the day as pure nirvana for his father.
Having a high regard for equine athletes, Jonathan believes that they should be treated no differently than human athletes, who benefit from a better understanding of responding to health issues and, perhaps more importantly, how to prevent them.
“It is my hope that the Dante and Sharon Ferrini Endowed Chair will be instrumental in advancing knowledge in injury prevention and developing innovative treatments to heal injured Thoroughbreds to reduce the need for euthanasia,” Jonathan said. “My parents would have been proud to know that this endowment established in their honor will help keep UC Davis at the cutting-edge of veterinary medicine to benefit equine athletes.”
As a world leader setting the pace in equine health, UC Davis is committed to meeting the unique needs of equine athletes and investing in the future of equine health through its plans for the new Equine Performance and Rehabilitation Center. It will be a cornerstone of the new UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center—a hub for innovation, healing and discovery.