HOT SPRINGS -- Many horsemen were born into the horse-racing game, but not Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.
He was born next door to it.
A native of Louisville, Ky., Cox was raised in his family's home, located two blocks from Churchill Downs, perhaps American racing's most venerable racetrack. None of his relatives were ever horsemen. Cox merely grew up exposed to the racing excellence and occasional clamor of his neighborhood.
It was enough to make him daydream as a child. The difference for Cox is that most of his dreams have come true, including one on the evening of Jan. 28, when he was handed an Eclipse Award as the 2020 outstanding trainer.
"I got into it wanting to train good horses and compete at the top level, and have horses who could compete in the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup, stuff like that," Cox said. "It's always been the goal."
Cox's rapid progression into and through the ranks of racing's top trainers is evident with a glance at earnings won by horses he trained or trains. Without interruption, horses trained by Cox have increased purse earnings from year to year since 2014, when they surpassed their 2013 total by approximately $1.5 million. Increases have continued to soar. With a month of racing left, horses trained by Cox have earned $30.2 million this year, an increase of $10.2 million from their 2020 earnings.
As another measure of improvement, graded-stakes wins from his stables have risen from one in 2014 -- when Carve won the Cox barn's first in the Grade III Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in Altoona, Iowa -- to 30 in 2020, including Oaklawn's Grade III Honeybee Stakes with Shedaresthedevil and the Grade III Oaklawn Handicap with Warrior's Charge. Through Sunday, the final day of Churchill's fall meet, Cox has 29 graded-stakes wins this year.
Cox turns to his stable's Eclipse-winning mare Monomoy Girl as the horse who ignited his graded-stakes bonanza.
"I think Monomoy Girl would've been the tipping point that allowed us to take it to another level, for sure," Cox said. "She got us our first Grade I [in 2018]. We had three individual Grade I winners that year, so she definitely got us to a point where we could compete on a national stage."
Before Monomoy Girl's first graded-stakes win in the 2018 Grade III Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Rounds in New Orleans, Cox's stable had won a total of 31 graded stakes. Including the 11 won by Monomoy Girl, his barns have since produced 82.
"Winning big races takes it to another level," Cox said. "There's no doubt about it," Cox said.
Jockey Florent Geroux has become the go-to rider for Cox-trained horses at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. In all, horses from stables ridden by Geroux have earned a purse total of $17.8 million this year, which ranks him seventh among North American riders. Geroux has ridden 18 graded-stakes winners this year, including 14 trained by Cox.
"In this business, it's important to pay attention to details," Geroux said. "I think some people don't pay attention to details like he does. If you do that and know what you're doing, you will achieve big things, and I think that is what Brad is doing right now. Of course, you need a little bit of luck, too, but he's good to his clients, and we put them in the best possible spot. It's the key to success. "
Whereas Geroux's admiration for his Eclipse-winning trainer is significantly influenced by their shared success, he said Cox's soft-spoken, pleasant nature -- forever in place regardless of race results -- help set him apart.
"Brad is a very good person," Geroux said. "I think people should appreciate when you win, and sometimes when you lose, you need to take it. He is very straightforward with the owners. He doesn't blame the jock he drew or anything. He's going to say that maybe next time we can regroup or put the horse in a better spot or this or that. I think that's the way to do it, not to blame anyone else. You just think what could I have done better, and that's the approach he's always had."
Oaklawn President Louis Cella added to Geroux's assessment.
"He runs a humble operation," Cella said. "He lets his horses do the talking. That's the name of the game and a sign of greatness. You don't see him grabbing microphones. He's quiet. He's humble, and he lets his horses excel."
Cella said Cox's presence bolsters the strength of Oaklawn's barns.
"Oaklawn is so blessed to have a Brad Cox, a Steve Asmussen, obviously a D. Wayne Lukas to come back now to Oaklawn," Cella said. "Kenny McPeek has now bought a home and come back to Oaklawn. Of course, Ron Moquett, who lives in Hot Springs. To have such solid programs, and it crosses the spectrum from the little guy to the big hotshots, who are all Hall of Famers, and if they're not yet, they will be."
Cox said he would suggest that newcomers to training repeat his process.
"You have to have long-term and short-term goals," he said. "You have to gradually build your stable, and it's all obtainable. It takes a lot of work, a lot of hours, and you can do it. It's basically just staying after it. That's all you can do."