My Kentucky Home: Brad Cox

by: Michael Compton

Saddling a winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) or Kentucky Oaks (G1) is a significant achievement for a Thoroughbred trainer. For Kentucky native Brad Cox, who grew up just blocks from Churchill Downs, such accomplishments mean something more. They are life-affirming.

Raised in Louisville, Ky., Cox knew he wanted to train horses from an early age. The fact that many of the racehorses that have helped Cox achieve memorable milestones have been bred in Kentucky is not lost on the 42-year-old conditioner. He won the first race of his career with Kentucky-bred One Lucky Storm in 2004 at Turfway Park at the age of 24 and he notched the initial stakes win of his career the following year with Kentucky-bred Tappin for Gold, winner of the Prairie Meadows Oaks. Fast forward to 2014, and Kentucky-bred Crave gave Cox his first Graded stakes victory with a win in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. (G3).

Raised in Louisville, Ky., Cox knew he wanted to train horses from an early age.

Cox has unquestionably come a long way since his early days. He is now a dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer, having received the 2020 and 2021 Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Trainer—his 2021 earnings of $31,832,345 set a single-season earnings record for a trainer in North America. Cox became the first Louisville native to win the Kentucky Derby when Kentucky-bred Mandaloun was awarded the win in 2021 after the winner was disqualified, and he has won the Oaks twice with Kentucky-breds Monomoy Girl in 2018 and Shedaresthedevil in 2020. Monomoy Girl was also Cox’s first Grade 1 stakes winner when she annexed the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland prior to winning the Oaks in her next outing.

He is now a dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer, having received the 2020 and 2021 Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer—his 2021 earnings of $31,832,345 set a single-season earnings record for a trainer in North America.

In 2021, Cox provided further testament to ranking among the pantheon of elite trainers by winning the Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun and the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Kentucky-bred Essential Quality. With a trio of Derby contenders this year, Cox finds himself in an enviable position to add to his trophy collection. He is expected to send out leading prospects Cyberknife, Tawny Port, and Zozos in Kentucky Derby 148 and will be represented by Turnerloose in the Oaks.

"I'm excited for all three (in the Derby)," said Cox. "Zozos, second in the Louisiana Derby, has been training very, very well. He had a big work last Friday. He's had six weeks between the Louisiana Derby and the Kentucky Derby. I think that’s plenty of time to take another step forward in just the fourth race of his life. I'm expecting him to step up and run a big race.

"I’m expecting [Zozos—pictured] to step up and run a big race."

"Cyberknife was able to pick off a Grade 1 last time in the Arkansas Derby, which was huge being a son of Gun Runner. It basically made him a stallion, so that's huge. Hopefully, he can build on his resume in the Kentucky Derby. He’s a really nice colt. He had a big work on Saturday, and I expect him to run really big in the Kentucky Derby.

Tawny Port, a little bit of an unconventional way of getting into the Kentucky Derby, maybe. He was second in the Jeff Ruby at Turfway and we ran him back on short rest—just 14 days—and he was able to win the Lexington here at Keeneland. It was a big run. Now, he'll have three weeks and just one work before the Kentucky Derby. If all is well, he is a horse I do believe can get a mile-and-a-quarter. He's going to have to get a little quicker. He's maybe a step below on numbers, but he is a solid horse that can get a mile-and-a-quarter, and if he can get a good trip, he can make his presence felt."

Not a generational horseman, Cox caught the racing bug early. His father, Jerry, was a forklift driver who introduced his son to the races as a kid. Cox first went to work on the backstretch at Churchill Downs, learning the business from such trainers as Frank Brothers, William "Jinks" Fires, Burk Kessinger, Jimmy Baker, and eventually Dallas Stewart. It might feel like his rise to fame has been fast, but Cox has worked long and hard at developing his skills, honing his craft, and growing his barn.

"My father took me to the track at an early age," Cox shared. "In high school, I was a big fan of racing and decided I wanted to make a living in the business. I started at the bottom as a hotwalker, groom. Once I got out of high school, I traveled with the horses. It's been great. I make a living out of it, but I love what I do. It's a labor of love.

"It's been great. I make a living out of it, but I love what I do. It's a labor of love."

"A lot of it comes down to being a very competitive person, wanting to do well, and win," Cox continued. "I look back, and I really struggled in the beginning. Most people do. It's very hard to get going in this business. I was on the Kentucky circuit. You just have to stay with it; it's a grind. For me, it ended up working out."

Today, Cox trains for some of the world's biggest owners, including Godolphin and Juddmonte Farms.

"When Garrett O’Rourke (Juddmonte) gave me a call four or five years ago in the fall, I was like, 'Wow,' this is big," Cox said. "It started with one horse, and it has really worked out well, I feel, for both parties. They have been a tremendous supporter of our stable, and we've had a tremendous amount of success together with the likes of Mandaloun, Golden Mischief, Juliet Foxtrot, and Fulsome. So, it's been a pretty good run for the last four or five years."

For Cox, training some of the industry's top stars is a family affair. His sons Bryson and Blake are both integral members of the team and help their father keep things humming in the shedrows.

"Bryson and Blake both work for me. It's huge," Cox said. "They're very, very good horsemen. They both work the sales, they're good hands to have around the barn. They are good, solid horsemen that pay attention. They remind me a lot of myself at an early age. Obviously, they are soaking up all the information they can get; they are fans of racing as well. I think that’s very important. People that watch racing really understand it, and it helps with training and giving you a little bit of the mindset of how things need to be done in preparation for big races. I feel they are definitely on the right track and will be successful in the business in some form."

With the majority of the horses in Cox's care stabled at his home bases of Churchill Downs and Keeneland, going to battle with Kentucky-bred runners is crucial to the trainer's success. Understandably, Cox, a gracious ambassador for the Kentucky program, is bullish on Kentucky’s future.

" There's no doubt that
Kentucky-breds are number one. "

"There's no doubt that Kentucky-breds are number one," Cox declared. "It's the long history, the great ground they are raised on here in Central Kentucky; it seems to be the best. Being a Kentucky-bred definitely does factor into a decision in regard to if (it is between) a horse bred in another state opposed to a Kentucky-bred, and honestly, that's a deal-breaker for us having such a large base here in Kentucky. With the money that we're running for, it's very important to be a Kentucky-bred and it factors in at the sales in our decision-making.

"There is money to be made with these Kentucky-breds," added Cox, who speaks from experience. "It's a great program, bottom line. I think the best in the country by far. Kentucky is a great place to live, to raise a family. It’s home for me."