Brad Cox

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides analysis for Saturday's trio of GI Kentucky Derby prep races. GI Toyota Blue Grass S. - In a race billed as a showdown between the re-opposing GII Remsen S. one-two Dornoch (Good Magic) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), don't look past likely third choice Just a Touch (Justify). The highly regarded bay ran to the hype with a powerful debut score for trainer Brad Cox over the promising $1.7-million KEESEP graduate Gun Party (Curlin) (he returned with another very good second-place finish Mar....

Albaugh Family Stable's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom (Constitution) began his preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby with a half-mile move in :48.40 early Friday morning at Churchill Downs, the track said in a release. Trained by Brad Cox, the 3-year-old worked at 5:30 a.m. ET with exercise rider Edvin Vargas in the saddle. The duo cruised through an opening quarter-mile in :24 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.20. "He's settled in nicely since we shipped him back to Churchill from Fair Grounds," Cox said. "He was...

Kentucky Senator Henry Clay might be considered one of the premier American politicians pre-Lincoln, but what is not up for debate was his fervent commitment to breeding equine athletes and attending the races. You cannot actually visit his home--Ashland--because the structure that stands on the Clay Estate just south of downtown Lexington is not original to "The Great Compromiser" and his time. However, interpretations of Clay-related objects enliven the tour. Ashland in name was imported as a stakes race when Keeneland opened in 1936. Some familiar female runners who graced...

It's come down to the last few preps. An outstanding field will meet Friday at Keeneland in the GI Ashland S. Four horses on our Top 10 list will take part in that race. At Aqueduct, they'll be vying for a spot in the field for the GI Kentucky Oaks in the GIII Gazelle S. At Santa Anita, fillies will contest the GII Santa Anita Oaks, but the horse expected to be he heavy favorite, Kinza (Carpe Diem), is trained by Bob Baffert and is therefore ineligible to run in...

'TDN Rising Star' Timberlake (Into Mischief), fourth as the favorite in last Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby, will not be pointed to the GI Kentucky Derby, according to a report in Daily Racing Form. The GI Champagne S. winner and GII Rebel S. winner is currently ranked fifth with 81 points for the Kentucky Derby. "Based on the performance over the weekend, we are not going to run in the Kentucky Derby," trainer Brad Cox told DRF. "We are thinking about cutting him back in distance." Cox added, "He came out...

The plot thickens as the cadence quickens. Entries will be drawn Tuesday for this Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S., and on Wednesday for the GI Santa Anita Derby and GII Wood Memorial S. 1) MUTH (c, Good Magic--Hoppa, by Uncle Mo) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 6-4-2-0, $1,504,100. Last start: WON Mar. 30 GI Arkansas Derby. Muth's two-length score in the GI Arkansas Derby cemented his status as...

If you do not happen to be a Lord of the Rings devotee, then as a horse racing fan you might assume that Gandalf, Frodo, Saruman and Sauron were just names some eccentric owners concocted to toy with The Jockey Club. Well, for true disciples of Tolkein, you understand the 'Two Towers' reference is a major theme in the trilogy, but for our purposes it simply denotes coverage. This Saturday, both Oaklawn Park and Gulfstream Park are those poles of power when it comes to authoring graded stakes. Their cards...

Brad Cox won four stakes races over the weekend, including the GII Louisiana Derby and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. But such a run of success has almost come to be expected from a trainer who never seems to have a bad week. Cox will arrive at Churchill Downs with an army of stakes-caliber horses, including threats for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks. The multiple Eclipse Award winning conditioner was our special guest on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this...

On this week's TDN Writers' Room, trainer Brad Cox reviews a long list of weekend winners, plus Arkansas Derby-bound Timberlake.

Things are heating up and the prospective field for the GI Kentucky Oaks is starting to take shape. Tarifa (Bernardini) won the GII Fair Grounds Oaks last Saturday and is very much looking like the horse to beat in the Kentucky Oaks. At Turfway Park, the former claimer Everland (Arrogate) earned her way into the Oaks with a win in the Bourbonette Oaks. Two huge preps will be run this Saturday--the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and the GIII Fantasy at Oaklawn. Here's a look at the latest installment of our...

We're approaching the five-week mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, but not all contenders on this week's list are aiming for the first Saturday in May. This coming weekend's nine-furlong stakes at Oaklawn and Gulfstream have the potential to usher in a shake-up within the rankings, which have remained relatively stable as winter edges into spring. 1) MUTH (c, Good Magic--Hoppa, by Uncle Mo) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: GSW,...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A horse gets claimed for a relatively cheap $30,000, later scores qualifying points at Turfway Park in March to get into one of the sport's most prestigious races at Churchill Downs, then ends up winning a career-defining Grade I stakes at improbable odds on the first weekend of May. That storyline describes the long-shot career of Rich Strike, who upset the GI Kentucky Derby at 80-1 back in 2022. But it also could be the 2024 script for newly crowned stakes victress...