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Brad Cox Trying For Fourth Consecutive Trainer’s Title At Fair Grounds

Fresh off a record-tying four wins at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland earlier this month, trainer Brad Cox will look to parlay that success to his fourth straight Fair Grounds trainer's title when the 149th meet kicks off Thanksgiving Day. Cox, who won 40 races last year and also led with 12 stakes wins, will have the maximum number of 44 allotted stalls, two of which will eventually be occupied by soon-to-be champions Essential Quality and Monomoy Girl, who, along with Knicks Go and Aunt Pearl, helped him tie Hall of Famer Richard Mandella for the most wins at one Breeders' Cup. And while he's the clear favorite to extend his local streak, it won't be at the top of his to-do list to start the meet.

“Honestly, I never go into a meet thinking about winning the trainer's title,” Cox said. “The goal is always to be competitive, and especially now to develop our younger horses, that's a huge part of it. If we get halfway through the meet and we're in contention, then that's great.”

At the top of the list of younger horses is Godolphin's homebred, Essential Quality, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile to cap a 3-for-3 campaign that will almost assuredly earn him an Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male. The son of Tapit is on the short list of Kentucky Derby contenders and could be a candidate for the March 20, $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), a race Cox won last year with Wells Bayou. Essential Quality has been given some time off after his Juvenile win and could resurface in mid-February, which means the local February 13 Risen Star (G2) could be in play.

“Right now, he's at Churchill jogging and will be there through November,” Cox said. “We'll eventually get him down to Fair Grounds and start mapping out a path to the Derby, with likely two preps. I don't have a spot picked out yet but Fair Grounds and their series is definitely in play.”

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Monomoy Girl won her second Breeders' Cup Distaff prior to being sold for $9.5 million to Spendthrift Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Selected Mixed Sale but, in a somewhat surprise decision, will race in 2021. The 5-year-old daughter of Tapizar is 13-for-15 lifetime in a surefire Hall of Fame career, won the Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-old Filly in 2018 and is odds-on to win Champion Older Mare this year. Monomoy Girl, who won the local Rachel Alexandra (G2) in 2018, is another who will join Cox's stable during the meet, though a potential schedule has yet to be determined.

“It's great to have her back (for another season),” Cox said. “Obviously, the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar is the main goal, but right now we really haven't talked 2021 with her. We'll get together with Spendthrift to work out a schedule, let her tell us when she's ready, and we'll go from there.”

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go will be the third of the Cox-trainer Breeders' Cup winners to be stabled at Fair Grounds this meet, though he could be pointed to the Pegasus World Cup in January at Gulfstream Park. Cox, with an ever-growing stable, will also have horses at Palm Meadows in South Florida this year, as part of his Gulfstream contingent, though he will spend the majority of his time in New Orleans. Cox will kick off his title defense with runners in the last five races on the Opening Day card, including ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables, and Dave Kenney's Landeskog, who is 4-1 on the morning line for the featured $125,000 Thanksgiving Classic.

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Familiar Stables, And A Few Newcomers, Converging At Fair Grounds This Winter

A deep and competitive backstretch will be that much tougher this winter when Fair Grounds opens their 149th meet Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, as several new trainers will make their presence felt for the first time. The who's who list is led by reigning four-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, who will have 24 stalls and joins two-time defending champion Brad Cox, along with perennial powers Ron Faucheux, Tom Amoss and Steve Asmussen, in making up one of the most talented and well-stocked group of conditioners to have ever descended on Fair Grounds.

Brown, based primarily in New York for the first decade of his career, has branched out in recent years and put down roots in Kentucky this year for the first time, which created a natural progression towards Fair Grounds.

“Being in the Midwest at Churchill Downs, and with things going well, we felt it made a lot of sense to bring a division to Fair Grounds and try to establish a year-round circuit,” Brown said. “We're optimistic that we can be competitive down there this winter.”

Brown, who has long had the deepest and most talented grass horses in the country, is familiar with Fair Grounds' biggest turf stakes, the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2), as he shipped Bricks and Mortar in to win the race in 2019, in what helped kickstart a Horse of the Year campaign that ended with a win in the Breeders' Cup Turf. While he plans on taking advantage of the local turf course, he expects to be well represented on all levels.

“Right now, we're still finalizing who we're going to bring down there and what kind of horses fit best, regardless of what class or division it might be,” Brown said. “We'll look over the condition book and see, on a horse-by-horse basis, what makes the most sense. If we have a lot of horses for the same condition it makes sense to separate them. And certainly, we'll keep our clients in mind as well, as some like to race in certain spots, based on where they are located.”

Brown is based at Palm Meadows in South Florida during the winter and will still call that home, which means Whit Beckman, a Louisville native who oversaw the Kentucky division this year, will be running the shedrow at Fair Grounds.

“Whit has been with us a few years now and has done a terrific job with the Kentucky string this year,” Brown said. “He's proven himself to be an excellent horseman and will be familiar with a lot of the horses we send to Fair Grounds.”

Though the list of newcomers is clearly led by Brown, there are several other nationally recognized trainers who will have a string at Fair Grounds this winter, including Norm Casse, who will have 21 stalls, while Ignacio Correas (26), Cherie DeVaux (22), Tommy Drury (6), Austin Gustafson (22), Anthony Quartarolo (14), Kelly Rubley (15), and Shane Wilson (40) are all new faces.

A smaller presence at Fair Grounds in recent years, Keith Desormeaux (25) has upped the ante for 2020-21. He's enjoyed local success in the past, winning the Risen Star (G2) in 2013 with 135-1 longshot Ive Struck a Nerve, while Drury could bring G2 winning 3-year-old Art Collector to run in next season's handicap division.

Cox, who pulled clear late last year and won the trainer's title with 40 wins, is the favorite to win it this year and will have the maximum allotted 44 stalls, as will Faucheux, who ran second with 34 wins. Amoss (29 wins) and Asmussen (26) also have 44 stalls, as do top-10 trainers Bret Calhoun, Joe Sharp, Al Stall, and Mike Stidham.

The jockey's race was a meet-long battle last year, as James Graham booted home 63 winners to outlast Mitchell Murrill by one and Colby Hernandez by three, and the trio will again lead the way this year. Florent Geroux (56 wins), Brian Hernandez Jr. (44), Adam Beschizza (44), Shaun Bridgmohan (38), Gabriel Saez (35), and Miguel Mena (32) were all in the top-10 and will be back this winter as well.

Opening Day marks the first of 76 racing days as Fair Grounds will run through March 28. There will be over $7 million in stakes races, highlighted by the March 20, $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. A pocket schedule, along with a complete list of the stakes schedule, can be found here: https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-2021-THOROUGHBRED-RACING-AND-STAKES-CALENDAR.pdf

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Fair Grounds To Begin Live Meet Without Spectators

Fair Grounds Race Course announced Tuesday that it will not open its 2020 – 2021 race season on Thanksgiving Day to the general public. The course anticipates making a subsequent announcement in December as to when the general public will be allowed to attend.

“We are happy to be able to present the Fair Grounds' 149th racing season, featuring over $7 million in stakes, and continue this longstanding New Orleans tradition despite these unprecedented times,” said Fair Grounds President Doug Shipley. “Out of an abundance of caution given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and working with State and Local authorities, we will not be opening the season to the general public at this time, with only licensed horsemen and essential personnel allowed to attend. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and hope to make an announcement soon as to when we will be able to share our racing experience with the general public.”

The Fair Grounds' slots and twelve off-track betting facilities will maintain their normal hours of operations and safety protocols.

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Fair Grounds to Begin Race Season Without Spectators

The Fair Grounds Race Course 2020-21 race season, set to begin on Thanksgiving Day, will be closed to the general public. A subsequent announcement in December is likely to follow as to when the general public will be allowed to attend.

Said Fair Grounds President Doug Shipley, “We are happy to be able to present the Fair Grounds’ 149^th racing season, featuring over $7 million in stakes, and continue this longstanding New Orleans tradition despite these unprecedented times. Out of an abundance of caution given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and working with state and local authorities, we will not be opening the season to the general public at this time, with only licensed horsemen and essential personnel allowed to attend. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and hope to make an announcement soon as to when we will be able to share our racing experience with the general public.”

The Fair Grounds’ slots and twelve off-track betting facilities will maintain their normal hours of operations and safety protocols.

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