NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — At Brad Cox’s racing stable, the final week of the Fair Grounds meet is busy. Cox will saddle Instant Coffee, Tapit’s Conquest, and Jace’s Road in Saturday’s Louisiana Derby.
Cox works early in the morning and late in the evening. Training horses is only part of his gig.
“It is not just horses,” Cox said. “It is humans as well, with a big staff and a lot of employees,”
Cox was an assistant trainer for Dallas Stewart for five years and got his racing breakthrough by training horses for Midwest thoroughbreds. But, he split with the group 10 years ago and was left with only two horses in his stable.
“Losing a large amount of horses at one time. That is discouraging, but you have to move forward, you don’t forget about it, but you also have to pursue your dream and move forward.”
“Did you ever doubt yourself?” asked Ed Daniels.
“Maybe a couple of times early on. I never give up. You have to keep pressing on and working hard every day,” he answered.
Cox recently won his 2000th race, and won the 2021 Belmont Stakes with Essential Quality, his first Triple Crown winner.
“It is an unbelievable feeling. And, I will tell you this, when you win one, you want to win another one,” Cox said.
The chance to win another one is Saturday at the Fair Grounds for the 2023 Louisiana Derby.