BY SARAH WELK BAYNUM

For Deborah Silveira, the magnetic pull toward racehorses transcends mere fascination—it is an unshakable calling that defied both conventional wisdom and personal hardship.

“I don’t know where my love for horses came from, but all I’ve ever wanted to do was ride racehorses,” Silveira said. “I dreamed of being the first woman jockey to win the Kentucky Derby.”

Her pursuit of this dream began with childhood visits to her grandmother on Long Island.

“In the early 1970s, I’d spend weekends and summer vacations at my grandmother’s house. And since she lived so close to Belmont [Park], I’d just walk up the road to the track. Everyone thought it was adorable—’Oh, look at this little girl. She wants to work with the racehorses, how cute, they would say.’ Back then, there weren’t many women on the backside of the track.”

Higher education proved merely a brief detour from her true path. Despite earning a scholarship to the University of New York, Silveira found herself uninspired.

“I had no interest in the non-equine animal courses they offered,” Silveira said. “Ironically, during the five weeks I spent in college, I met now fellow FTBOA member Cheryl Breitenbecker in the quad dorms. Shortly after, I dropped out. My parents were upset because I was supposed to transfer to Cornell. Instead, I went to work for the county for a year. But in the end, all I ever wanted to do was ride racehorses.”

Heeding the persistent call of the track, Silveira immersed herself in the world of Thoroughbred racing.

“I started hot walking and shed rowing. I worked for P. G. Johnson and J. T. Conway. John Nerud was next door, but I had no idea he was watching me.”

Nerud, a legendary figure in the racing world, who offered her a position at Tartan Farm in Ocala. This pivotal opportunity brought her to Florida and introduced her to her first husband, an apprentice rider. Their relationship took her throughout the Northeast racing circuit, where she honed her skills galloping horses and eventually training.

Life’s unpredictable nature struck when her husband suffered a fatal heart attack, prompting Silveira to return to Florida. There, she demonstrated remarkable adaptability, balancing her equine passion with practical necessity.

“I ended up getting into real estate too—working horses in the morning and then selling real estate, mainly to racetrack clients,” Silveira said.

A second marriage temporarily took her away from the heart of horse country to North Carolina’s mountains. The separation from equine culture proved unsustainable.

“But it just wasn’t horse country,” Silveira said. “So, we decided to come back to Ocala. However, my husband got cancer and passed away shortly after.”

Through these profound personal losses, Silveira’s resilience remained undiminished. She established her own farm in Ocala through extraordinary determination and physical labor.

“When I moved to this farm alone, I had to build everything myself. I dug every fence post, every board, the barn—I couldn’t afford to have people come out and do major work. I started taking in layups and built a good business. I swore I’d never get into the breeding side of things, but after my neighbor introduced me to someone—who I ended up marrying—we purchased seven broodmares. He’d worked on many farms in Marion County for years and knew all about the breeding side of the business. We even ended up breeding and selling a couple of stakes horses and the breeders’ awards really helped our business, too.”

Among countless equine companions throughout her career, one particular Thoroughbred secured a special place in Silveira’s heart.

“Ben Stutts, who was one heck of a horseman, came to me and said he had a 2-year-old filly who hadn’t made it to the track yet, and he asked if I’d work with her,” Silveira said. “That filly, Addy Bug, became my all-time favorite horse. She was a gorgeous chestnut with chrome and I had so much fun with her. She went on to win big—stakes races, allowance races. She was even named Pennsylvania Horse of the Year. I always had Gatorade with me and she’d drink it straight from my thermos—she loved oranges, too.”

Today, despite weathering numerous personal storms including the loss of a third husband, Silveira maintains her farm in Ocala and her unwavering commitment to thoroughbreds—a testament to a passion that defines her very existence.

“The racehorse business—it’s just a way of life. My mom kept waiting for me to grow out of it, but it never happened—it never does. Once you get it in your blood, you don’t ever get rid of it,” Silveira said.

Return to the March 18 issue of Wire to Wire