Eclipse Award an 'Amazing Accomplishment' for Cox

The ascension of trainer Brad Cox to Eclipse Award winner has been a simple matter of determination and time.

It's also been quite the journey for a man who became obsessed with the sport as a child after being introduced to Thoroughbreds by his father, a casual bettor. A Louisville native who grew up near Churchill Downs, Cox got his foot in the door by walking hots, the most modest of beginnings. Driven and dedicated, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become one of the sport's most relevant horsemen. 

Since 2014, when his stable first cleared the seven-figure mark with nearly $2.4 million in earnings—just 10 years after he took out his license, Cox has blazed an upward trail. In the past seven years he has never failed to top his stable's previous season earnings. 

Bolstered by four remarkable Breeders' Cup wins among his 30 graded stakes scores, the 40-year-old horseman finished 2020 ranked second in North America by earnings with a career-best $18,983,832, second by graded wins, and sixth by overall wins (216). He accomplished a career objective when he won the Eclipse Award over finalists Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert.

"It's amazing, really. You have goals of winning awards like this," Cox said. "You look down the list of the past award winners and you're like, 'Wow.' To be in that company is just shocking, actually, to me. It's an amazing accomplishment, and I owe so much to the people around me, the horses, and the clients."

The quality of the trainer's current stable reflects his talent. Shedaresthedevil gave Cox his second Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) score last year while his brilliant handling of champion Monomoy Girl brought her back from near-retirement to land her second Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) headed full steam ahead to a 2021 campaign. TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) winner Essential Quality and Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Aunt Pearl joined Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Knicks Go among his top runners in 2020.

"Any time you win an award like this, there has to be a lot of people helping you along the way a tremendous amount," Cox said. "Your family, your clients, your staff—and it all comes down to the horses. It's been an amazing run, and hopefully we can build off of it, just continue to do what we're doing and try to win big races."