"... the Amesbury native knows first-hand that life can become derailed when least expected. Having established herself as a solid journeyman rider in a talented jockey colony that included Carl Gambardella and Rudy Baez in the late ’80s while riding under her maiden name as Tammi Campbell, she seemed destined to become a star. However, a recurring case of viral meningitis interrupted that rise to stardom on several occasions while triggering a decade of more debilitating problems that nearly took her life.

“I’ve been blessed this year. This is the best decade of my life.”

"Piermarini, 44, originally from Salisbury, began her racing career at Suffolk in 1985 as an apprentice jockey. Over the course of 26 years, three pregnancies, repeated bouts of debilitating spinal meningitis, and upward of $17 million in purse winnings, she diligently has carved out one of the sport’s more impressive careers for a woman. Not that she really considers 'for a woman' to be a necessary qualifier in the overall discussion of her time in the saddle, because she now has exactly 14,206 races and, oh, the odd dustup in the jocks room with some of her brothers is ample evidence that she considers her sport a level playing field."