Brad H. Cox: 2025 Kentucky Derby Trainer Profile

One of the fastest-rising stars in recent years has been horse trainer Brad Cox.

His profile steadily rose over the 2010s, and he has been fixed at the upper echelon of the sport through the 2020s. Cox has won two Eclipse Awards for champion trainer, two editions of the Kentucky Oaks, 11 Breeders’ Cup races, and 54 Grade 1 races dating back to 2018.

Though he didn’t run his first Kentucky Derby starter until 2021, he has had at least two runners in every edition of the race since, and has an up-and-comer at Churchill Downs for the Run for the Roses in 2025.

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Brad Cox in the Kentucky Derby

Brad Cox has run a total of 11 horses in the Kentucky Derby, with his first representatives being a pair in 2021. The Kentucky Derby favorite that year was the Cox-trained juvenile champion Essential Quality, who placed third, after the disqualification of Medina Spirit. However, it was Cox’s long-shot Mandaloun who bounced back from a disappointing final prep to give Cox his first-ever Kentucky Derby win in his first visit to the race.

Cox has had nine more starters in the Run for the Roses. One of those nine has hit the board: Angel Empire, his second career Kentucky Derby favorite, finished third behind Mage in 2023.

Brad Cox in the Triple Crown

Cox has only run three horses in the Preakness so far. In 2019, he ran his first two horses in the Preakness, Owendale and Warrior’s Charge. They finished third and fourth behind War of Will. He trained the morning-line favorite First Mission in 2023, though First Mission was scratched the week of the race. Cox returned to the Preakness for real in 2024 with Catching Freedom, who rallied for third behind Seize the Grey, missing second place by just a head.

Cox has run four horses in the Belmont Stakes so far, and his first visit could not have gone better. Essential Quality came back five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and outstayed Hot Rod Charlie, winning by 1 ½ lengths. After 2021, Cox has run three more horses, all in 2023. Angel of Empire and Hit Show dead-heated for fourth, while Tapit Shoes was ninth.

2025 Kentucky Derby Contender Final Gambit

While Tappan Street was in 2025 Kentucky Derby conversations throughout the winter, Brad Cox trainee Final Gambit was not on most observers’ radar until an upset victory in a final-round prep race. Tappan Street had to be taken out of Derby contention on Saturday after coming out of a work with an injury, but Cox will still be represented by Final Gambit.

He is getting good at the right time, though the son of Not This Time will have surface questions to answer in the Run for the Roses: all of his starts have come on turf or Tapeta tracks, and the Kentucky Derby will be his first try on conventional dirt.

Two-Year-Old Season

Final Gambit started only once as a juvenile. He debuted in a one-mile maiden special weight over the Churchill Downs turf track, the lone first-time starter in a field of 12. Despite that inexperience, he was bet down as the second favorite. After a troubled start, he settled near the rear and mustered a belated far-outside rally to get up for the show.

Three-Year-Old Season

Into his three-year-old season, he switched from the grass to the Tapeta at Turfway. He was bet down to favoritism for a one-mile race on January 4. Trying a new running style, he tracked in range of 44-1 long shot leader Pnutbutter Whiskey and tried to reel him in. But, he fell half a length short in the end.

Final Gambit returned in another maiden special weight mile at Turfway on February 15. He reverted to the closing style he showed in his debut, and it worked out much better for him. Settled in last through the first half of the race, he made his move into the lane, gained ground smartly, and rolled clear to win by 2 ¼ lengths.

Off of that maiden win, Final Gambit earned his ticket to Turfway’s signature Kentucky Derby prep. Though Cox’s runners are often well bet, he was a 15-1 outsider in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), making his first start against winners in a last-round Kentucky Derby prep. Though he had a rough start, he had handled such a thing before in his debut, and had done his best work rallying from off the pace. He sat in last for much of the 1 ⅛ mile race, started to gain some steam on the far turn, sustained his move down the lane, and drew off to win by 3 ½ lengths over Flying Mohawk. That gave Final Gambit his first graded-stakes win in his first start against winners, and cemented his bid in the Kentucky Derby.

The Jeff Ruby Steaks has a rising profile as a live Kentucky Derby prep in recent years, though Final Gambit will have to answer the dirt question. Sire Not This Time and damsire Tapit are well proven in dirt pedigrees. The class in his dam’s family comes on the grass, though his only half-sibling to race has won in both maiden and allowance company on dirt, something that may help inform Cox’s choice to send Final Gambit to Louisville.

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