Jessica Paquette

Jessica Paquette grew up loving horses although riding wasn’t always in the family budget. Like most with a passion for the sport, she found a way to be around horses. She was selected for Trudy McCaffery’s Kids to the Cup program which took her to the 1999 Breeders’ Cup at Gulfstream Park. She was hooked. From there she continued to find ways to connect with horses, whether it be “walking hots” at Rockingham Park or cleaning stalls in exchange in for riding lessons.

For the past 20 years, Jessica has worked on the frontside. In addition to serving on the management team at Suffolk Downs, she has worked in marketing, broadcasting, public relations, communications, and most recently announcing. While she called her first race in 2014, it wasn’t until November 2022, when she made announcing her career. Jessica has been the full-time track announcer at Parx Racing and is currently the only woman in North America to hold that role. She became the first woman to ever call a Grade 1 race in September 2023. She still loves her time with her three Off The Track Thoroughbreds. As she told the class, “You’ve got to love the horse first. And, the sport second.”