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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Live racing returns to Laurel Park Sept. 5. The 52-day fall meet features the 40th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million, premium live events throughout the season, and a bettor-friendly 12% takeout on "Value Pick 5" wagers.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
As the meet opens Aug. 28, Kentucky Downs will be using a new timing mechanism born from a strategic partnership between McLloyd-and StrideSAFE.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Brad Cox is native son of Louisville, Kentucky and proud of it. He also never goes anywhere without his trademark blue and white Brad Cox baseball cap. Career dreams? Of course he has them. One of these days, he might even take a vacation. Brad sat down with the TDN's Tim Wilkin to talk about that and a whole lot more. Here is the final installment of the Saratoga Q&A TDN: You grew up two blocks from Churchill Downs, correct? Brad Cox: That is correct. TDN: And you got a love for racing very early. BC: Yes. I was always a fan of racing. I grew up a fan, grew up around it. I love horse racing. I tried to take in as much as I could at an early age. TDN: When did you realize this is what you wanted to do? BC: Probably in high school. I played basketball, baseball. I just kind of grew bored with it. I was more focused on the races. I thought it was something I would try to pursue because I loved it; I enjoyed it. I knew early on it was something I wanted to do. TDN: How would you describe yourself as a high school basketball/baseball player? BC: Not as good as I thought I was (laughs). I always had big dreams, be it baseball or basketball or horse racing. I was always a big dreamer, and I am still a big dreamer. I dream about winning some big races and we have been very fortunate to win a lot of big races. That is why you get up and do this every day. You want to acquire good horses and produce for your clientele, and it is very gratifying when you can win at a very high level. TDN: The Breeders' Cup in 2020. You won four races over the two days. Is that the personal highlight so far for you? BC: That was a big weekend, obviously. Listen, so far, I feel like we have had a great career. I always use we because it's a team effort. We have had a great run; we have had a lot of great moments. I think the biggest takeaway from 2020 was probably Monomoy Girl winning her second Distaff. She won her first one in 2018. For her to go on the shelf (for 18 months because of a mild case of colic and then a pulled gluteal muscle) with no racing, I thought that was a helluva job by our team to not only get her back but for her to compete at that level and to be undefeated that season was one of the better training jobs that we have had. That was amazing. TDN: And then in 2021, the Breeders' Cup was kind to you again (Knicks Go won the Classic and Essential Quality was third; Juju's Map was second in the Juvenile Fillies, and he won his second straight Eclipse Award for top trainer). BC: Knicks Go. That was a big year. TDN: I know this is not really a fair question, but do you have a favorite horse you have trained? BC: Essential Quality was special. We have had nice horses, but he acted like he was really special from the start. When you have one that acted as gifted as he did and then see it in the afternoon … for him to stay sound and stay in training and stay with us from the time he arrived as a 2-year-old from Niall Brennan until the time he was retired … he was in training, in our barn, in our care for well over a year and a half. For him to bring it every time you led him over there was special. The year (2021) he was third (elevated from fourth after the subsequent disqualification of Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby) I thought he was the best horse in that crop that year. He showed that winning the Belmont and the Travers. And Monomoy Girl was very special. Knicks Go was very good. Some of his races were some of the more dominant races–the Whitney, when he was five and the Dirt Mile when he was four were two of his better performance. We had a lot of good ones. Essential Quality winning the Belmont | Sarah Andrew TDN: I ask this question to everyone I do these things with. If there was a movie made about your life and you could pick the actor to play you, who you got? BC: Hmm. I am not a big movie guy. I have always liked Robert DeNiro. If there was a movie about me, it would be really boring (laughs). Same thing every day. TDN: I mentioned this to you after Essential Quality's Belmont. Earlier in the day, you did not have your baseball hat on. You always have the hat on. Is that a lucky thing for you? BC: (laughs). It's a bad hair thing! I just wear a baseball cap. Always have. On occasion I don't, but It's me. It's what I do. TDN: How cool is it to have your sons involved with you? (Bryson was a former foreman for his dad at Churchill Downs and is now a jockey agent; Blake is an assistant for his dad). BC: Blake runs the show at Saratoga. He looks after a string in the winter at Payson and he'll be heading there again this year. He does a great job, and he will train on his own someday. I am excited about the day he does his own thing. We might have to run against each other for a while and I look forward to the day when we are competing against each other. It's exciting for me to think what he will accomplish. He is a great horseman and his attention to detail is great. TDN: How old is Blake now. BC: Twenty-four. TDN: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? BC: My dad would be No. 1. Since he passed away in 2016, I know we have accomplished a tremendous amount, and I think he is seeing it, watching it. It would be real cool to sit down and talk to him about it. Another would be Charlie Whittingham. I would like to pick his brain on how things were done years ago. And let's go with Michael Jordan. Growing up, I idolized him being a fan of basketball. The greatest basketball player of all time. It would be interesting to have a conversation with him. TDN: How often are you on a plane? BC: Wintertime and summertime probably a bit more than in the spring and the fall. Probably weekly in the wintertime. You travel a good bit between Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas. Spring, when Keeneland and Churchill gets started, not quite as much. When Saratoga gets started there are a lot of trips from Kentucky to New York in the summer. TDN: Do you get sick of flying or do you like it? BC: If it goes smooth, I don't mind it but if there are any delays, it's about as bad as it gets. TDN: Have you had some bad ones? BC: No, I use Stretch as my travel agent. Walter “Stretch” Johnson. All the jocks know him and a lot of the trainers know him. He's the best. TDN: I am sure this is going to be an easy one for you. Your favorite racetrack. Churchill, right? BC: Yes. Churchill. Keeneland. They are my two favorites. I love going to Santa Anita. I think it is probably one of the most beautiful sports venues in racing. Maybe the most beautiful sports venue, period. I like Del Mar. I like Saratoga, but Churchill and Keeneland are my two favorites. TDN: You have a Kentucky Derby win (Mandaloun, who was declared the 2021 winner in February of 2022 after the disqualification of Medina Spirit) but it wasn't the way you wanted to win it. BC: No. Not at all. That is the No. 1 race. If we cross the wire first–and I think we will one of these days–I am very hopeful that we will and turn our attention to winning it again. It's the toughest race to win by far; its' not even close. It's the only race in America where we run more than 14 horses, and you have to stack up and beat 19 of them It's a tough race. There is a lot of luck involved. Mandaloun | Sara Gordon TDN: You have good horses coming into your barn all the time. When do you really know that you have a good one? What do they tell you? BC: At the end of the day, it's up to them. It's nice to form opinions of horses … you think you have a good horse just based off the training. You've got to get a couple races into their career before you really find out what you have. We have had a lot of horses that we liked, that won first time out, received big figures and we thought they could be Grade I horses, and they just don't go on for whatever reason. And then there are horses that don't show us near as much in the morning that are much better in the afternoon. Several Grade I winners that were horses we thought were decent but if you told me before they started, they were going to win a Grade I, I would have had a hard time seeing it. When you get as many horses as we do, and you have seen what we have seen, and the experience we have with so many horses, you learn a lot. There's a lot of different ways to develop horses and it's like trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. TDN: When is the last time you took a vacation? BC: I have yet to take one this year, I can tell you that. (laughs). Went on a golf outing after the Keeneland September Sale last year. A group of us went and played golf for three days. That was the last vacation. TDN: Where did you go? BC: Ruston, Louisiana. Squire Creek Golf Course. TDN: I bet you still called the barn. BC: Every day. You always have to stay on top of it. For me, peace of mind, being able to talk to the assistants and going through the horses. It's how we do it. TDN: Do you have a favorite sport other than horse racing? BC: Football and basketball are probably my two favorites. TDN: Pro or college? BC: College football but I do like the NFL. I root for Kentucky, but I like the SEC. It's a fun conference to watch. I try to watch the games on Saturdays, but we race most of the time. TDN: How jazzed up do you get for the big race days? This is a 24/7, 365-days a year job. How hyped up do you get for the big days, like Travers Day, Derby Day? BC: It's exciting, leading up to the Kentucky Derby or Travers weekend or Breeders' Cup weekend. It's a lot of work. Look, if you are in one of these races and you are one of the favorites and you really think you've got a chance, it's about as good as it gets. If you're 100-1 it might not be quite as exciting (laughs). When you are in a big race and you have a chance, when the last horse loads and they break, it's why you do this. TDN: Would you call yourself a funny guy? BC: Maybe around some people (laughs). I think I am fairly serious when I am at the barn and training. I'm trying to pay attention to the horses and staying focused. Sometimes, away from the barn, I'll crack a joke here and there. Monomoy Girl | Horsephotos TDN: How many horses do you have right now? BC: We're around 180. Saratoga, Kentucky and Indiana. TDN: I have asked this to other trainers. How do you keep track of all of them? What's the system? BC: Everyone has their own system. I use my iPad for PPs and figures and all that stuff. In regard to my training charts and my condition books, I write everything down. I try to do all my entries. Line up all my jocks myself. It works for me. Everyone says, 'how do you keep up?' I'm not going to say it's all I do, but it's time consuming. But I love it. I like being on top of it. I like what's going on with each horse and I've got great assistants giving me the information. One thing I tell my assistants I think any of them would vouch for this. I need to know the bad news. I don't always need to hear the good news. I need to hear the bad news so I can make the moves to try and fix the situation or the issue. TDN: You don't have many free hours in a day, do you? BC: There are days that are a little more demanding. But there are days that, that maybe in the afternoons, you can chill out a little bit and decompress, I suppose. TDN: You said you play golf. Are you good? BC: No, not at all. It is something where you can spend four hours … I wouldn't say totally get away from racing … I played 18 holes last week and I think I had to watch two or three races on my phone. When I am away from it, I miss it, I can tell you that. TDN: If you had one stall open in your barn and you could put any horse from history in it, who would it be? BC: I guess the easy answer would be Secretariat, right? That was well before I was alive. Knowing what he was able to accomplish, it would be cool to see what it was like, being around him. TDN: Do you have a nickname? BC: I can't say I do. I probably do around the barn. Me and a couple riders call each other Jefe, which is Spanish for boss. I guess that is it. TDN: Are you an easy guy to work for? BC: Yes. I do. I think I am. It shows with the people that have worked for me and how long they have been with me, and I take pride in that. It means a lot. The post Saratoga Q & A: Brad Cox appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By my calculations, if you remove the 2 extra FY25 meetings, that represents an increase of 13.3% YOY turnover. Extrapolating from that and applying the same increase to say $400m GBR, assuming margins remain stable, that would mean an annual increase of about $50m GBR. Of course, not all of that is due to the online monopoly. Some has come from CPI, increased marketing etc., but even if it were, it is still only about 1/2 the predicted recapture at this stage. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
After having a bone chip removed following her runner-up finish in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), Legion Racing's Drexel Hill is back on the worktab for trainer Whit Beckman.View the full article
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