Breeders' Cup Connections: Katie Tolbert, Building the Foundation for Champions

There are people that work with horses and there are people that love horses. In the case of Katie Tolbert, there is no better example of a person that works with horses because of how much she loves them.

You see the devotion on a quiet morning on the backside of Churchill Downs as she sits in the saddle, stroking the neck of the horse she is astride or is ponying alongside her. You hear it in the echo of a nicker from an excited trainee, eager for her company, as she makes her way down the shedrow. But you feel it most when she talks about the horses, from the Grade I winners to the young ones still finding their way, as a smile alights her face and excitement sparkles in her eyes.

Tolbert's love of animals fueled her from a young age. In spite of not having a horse of her own while growing up in Seneca, South Carolina, she used every opportunity she could through friends and family to be near them. Tolbert eventually pursued a degree in animal science and equine business at Clemson University, graduating in 2006.

After graduation, Tolbert relocated to Lexington, Kentucky after being accepted into the Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) program, which placed her at Juddmonte Farm for the fall.

“It was amazing because they have a wonderful farm, the people are wonderful, and [they have] incredible horses. I did a fall semester there breaking yearlings. They let you help with anything else you wanted to help with, so I worked on the breeding shed, I went and helped turn out babies at night, whatever they needed,” said Tolbert. “They set me up to go to Gulfstream one winter to work at the track, because they knew I was interested in it, so I went with Bobby Frankel, who trained all of their horses in the U.S. at the time. I loved it. I rode the pony, helped feed, walked horses, helped groom, and I might have gotten to jog a horse or two.”

She remained with Juddmonte for a few years before moving to Maryland to work for Sagamore Farm, where she stayed for nearly a decade. It was during that time that she made her way back to Kentucky to work for Stanley Hough, who was training for Sagamore, until owner Kevin Plank announced that Sagamore would cease its racing operation in November of 2020.

Tolbert and Idiomatic, who recently retired to Juddmonte Farm | Sara Gordon

Following that, Hough retired, Sagamore began to sell their horses and Tolbert made the decision to head up to New York to work for Horacio DePaz, who she had worked for while at Sagamore. It was there she met Dustin Dugas, an assistant trainer for Brad Cox, who recruited her to join the stable as they ventured to Florida for the winter.

“And I've been here ever since,” she said.

In the nearly four years she has been a member of the Cox team, she has worked her way up to her current position as assistant trainer and exercise rider. Tolbert has been hands-on with a multitude of top-class horses that many only dream of. A clear standout, and a personal favorite, was none other than dual champion Essential Quality (Tapit).

“I started riding him in Saratoga [in 2021] and he was such a cool horse. He was so smart; he was so easy to deal with. That was unbelievable for me. Those are the kind of horses you see on TV and I'd never gotten a chance to [work with anyone like him before]. I rode him all summer and he won the GII Jim Dandy, then the GI Travers, and ended up running great in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic [at Del Mar]. That was exciting to be part of,” said Tolbert.

And then came Cyberknife (Gun Runner).

“We got a 2-year-old that came with a lot of warnings about his behavior. He was rowdy, rambunctious, and kind of hard to deal with. When we got back to [Churchill Downs] in the fall, none of the guys liked him all that much and 'Essential' had gone back to his regular rider, so I thought maybe if I start riding one that nobody likes, I'd get to 'keep him,'” said Tolbert. “I tried hard to make friends with him and I got along with him pretty good here. Over time he grew up and he got to train more, breeze more, and got some of his energy out. I got to ride him with all the [GI Kentucky] Derby leadup and go over to the Derby with him, which was really exciting.”

Though the GI Arkansas Derby winner didn't run particularly well in the first leg of the Triple Crown, he'd go on to win the GIII Matt Winn Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes, later following up with a near score in the GI Travers Stakes and a third-place finish in the GI Pennsylvania Derby. And when it came to the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, he was one horse that many people had eyes on in the weeks leading up to the race.

Tolbert pays a visit to Cyberknife at Spendthrift Farm | Sara Gordon

But tragedy struck Tolbert in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, the weekend prior to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. Tolbert, who was meant to be aboard Cyberknife in his final prep before the Dirt Mile, suffered a serious injury to her left leg when the unraced 2-year-old she was on reared up and threw her into a grandstand box-seat railing at Churchill. The final diagnosis was a broken femur, which required surgery to insert a metal rod to stabilize the bone.

This type of injury would keep most people down for the count for months, if not longer, but not Tolbert. Despite having her entire left leg stabilized in a brace and a crutch under each arm, Tolbert was there at Keeneland a week later for the Breeders' Cup to cheer Cyberknife home as he put forth a valiant effort to finish just a head behind winner Cody's Wish (Curlin).

It's quite fitting that friends have coined Tolbert the “Rider of Champions,” as it seems many of the horses that she develops a deep-rooted bond with seem to pay it back handsomely on some of racing's biggest days. And when that happens, Tolbert is always there to greet them in the winner's circle, bestowing a few pats on the head followed immediately by a kiss on the nose.

One of the most fulfilling experiences for Tolbert has been the opportunity to work with Juddmonte-owned horses in training with Cox, bringing her full circle with the operation that laid the foundation for her career in the industry. A notable member of that group was Idiomatic (Curlin),the 2023 Eclipse Award champion older dirt female and five-time Grade I winner. Though the winner of last year's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff was set to return to defend her title in this year's running at Del Mar, it was announced Friday morning that she was found to be lame in her left knee and has subsequently been retired to stud.

“You could tell she was special,” said Tolbert. “She was so sweet, everybody loved her. She would stand in her stall and want you to snuggle her giant head. She turned out really great for us.”

Along with the stars already mentioned, one would be remiss to leave out Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}), another Juddmonte homebred, who was a member of the Cox barn for over four years and a personal favorite of Tolbert's. A multiple graded stakes winner, the hard-knocking gelding finally captured a Grade I in his last season on the track, winning the 2023 GI Arlington Million Stakes at Colonial Downs as a 7-year-old.

“He was probably one of the first ones that I got to gallop consistently, [one] that was sort of mine, and he was so easy to ride, which made it fun. He loved to stand in, he loved attention and he loved training, so I got to travel a lot with him. It was always exciting going places with him, especially when you could tell that he was going to do well, and running in the Arlington Million was really cool. He was a barn favorite, kind of quirky also, but classy. We all just loved him, so it was fun to have him for Juddmonte,”said Tolbert.

Tolbert and Highland Falls at Churchill Downs | Sara Gordon

“It's special to have started off at Juddmonte. Some of the babies that we get, or even grandbabies, [are out of] ones that I knew when I was there. Obviously [Juddmonte has] an excellent breeding program, but it's been fun to find a new connection with them here and still be involved with them.”

It's now full steam ahead for Breeders' Cup preparations, with the Cox team set to have an exciting group shipping out that includes Godolphin's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes winner Highland Falls (Curlin). A contender for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, he is another on the list of esteemed horses that Katie has worked with consistently.

“I've been riding Highland Falls for the better part of two years. He was another one that took time and as he's gotten older, really developed,” said Tolbert. “Over the past year he's just gotten so much stronger and more mature. Sometimes you just have to wait on them a little bit. He ran awesome in Saratoga and he's been training really good. He's not super flashy, and he never really does anything wrong, he's just classy. He stands, trains and does his job, so I don't think he gets a whole lot of attention but he's a super cool horse.

“It's fun being part of an operation like this where we do have some older horses and we have horses that we get as babies and we can see their careers develop. It's rewarding, especially when you see them when they're young and you know there's something in there, to be able to see them find it over the next few years.”

With most of her time spent on the track, it's in the rare free time that Tolbert gets she often makes the trip from Louisville to Lexington to visit with some of her retired favorites, many of which are now stallions or broodmares. And despite the time that passes, it's evident in their reaction to seeing her again that she remains their 'person.'

“I've been really lucky. I've worked for great people and been around a lot of nice horses, but nothing like the ones that we've had over the past few years. It's not something I ever thought that I could be part of, so it's exciting,” said Tolbert. “I love racing and I love everything about what we do, but I just love horses. It's the only reason I do it. I mean, there are plenty of jobs where you can make more money or have a better schedule, but this is the only thing I want to do.”