Brad Cox

Trainer

Born: March 30, 1980

  • Brad Cox, a Louisville, KY native, has seen his career skyrocket over the last few years, culminating with his first Eclipse Award in 2020 as Champion Trainer.
  • Among his 2020 highlights was winning four Breeders' Cup races - the Distaff (G1) with multiple champion Monomoy Girl, the Juvenile (G1) with Essential Quality, the Dirt Mile (G1) with Oaklawn allowance winner Knicks Go and the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) with Aunt Pearl.
  • Both Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality were among Cox's seven stakes winners at Oaklawn in 2021, capturing the Bayakoa (G3) and Southwest (G3) Stakes, respectively. Essential Quality, who was champion 2-year-old in 2020, is among the finalists for champion 3-year-old in 2021 after also winning the Belmont Stakes (G1), Cox's first Triple Crown race win, and the Travers Stakes (G1). Knicks Go is all but assured Horse of the Year honors after ending 2021 by winning the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
  • 2019 was highlighted by victories in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with Covfefe and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) with British Idiom. The fillies earned Eclipse Awards as Champion 3-year-old Filly and Champion 2-year-old Filly, respectively.
  • 2018 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Monomoy Girl won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) to give him his first Breeders’ Cup victory and became his first champion.
  • Cox grew up a few blocks from Churchill Downs and earned an advanced degree in racing education under the famed Twin Spires. He broke into the game working for Burk Kessinger and Jimmy Baker before landing a job as assistant to trainer Dallas Stewart. Cox spent about four years under Stewart, which indoctrinated him to the revolutionary training program pioneered by D. Wayne Lukas and passed down through former assistants such as Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, and Stewart. Cox calls Lukas his childhood hero, and like the Hall of Fame trainer, runs his horses in white bridles.
  • Once setting out on his own in late 2004, Cox needed to be sharp to get established with a small stable. He identified Oaklawn in 2009 as a place to build momentum and get rolling with horses he picked out through claiming races. Cox later had to twice rebuild his stable after splitting with Chicago-based powerhouse Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.
  • He now has more than 150 horses in training and races extensively in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, and New York. Cox has collected training titles at Ellis Park, Fair Grounds, Churchill Downs, and Keeneland.
  • Cox’s son Blake is one of his main assistants. Other assistants are Jorge Abrego, Ricky Gianni, and Tessa Bisha.
  • Despite growing up in Louisville, he is an avid University of Kentucky fan.
Photo of Brad Cox