David Cohen (born October 29, 1984) is an American

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

. He won the 2018 Comeback Jockey of the Year Award, and was the 2019

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the A ...

Champion Jockey. In 2022, he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

. As of March 20, 2024, he had 1,644 career wins, and earnings of $65 million.

Personal

Cohen is Jewish and was born and raised in California, where he had his

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

, lived in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of t ...

, then in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada, where he graduated from

Bonanza High School Bonanza High School is a high school in the Las Vegas Valley. It was built in 1976 and was the ninth high school to open in the area. History Bonanza opened in 1976, and is built in the same configuration as Eldorado High School (Nevada), Eldor ...

, and his hometown is New York."Cohen Rides 1,000th Career Winner,"
''Bloodhorse'', October 13, 2011. His father, Morry Cohen, died of cancer."Jockey David Cohen Back After Three-Year Hiatus"
''Bloodhorse'', December 1, 2017. He had a fiancée, rider Maria Remedio (aka Maria Charles), and they have two children. In 2017 he was living in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, with his fiancée, Ashley. He is 5 feet 6 inches tall, and weighs 115 pounds.

Career

Early career

Cohen was introduced to racing by his father, an owner and breeder in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He began riding professionally in 2004, at 19 years of age. On December 26, 2005, he won his first Grade 1 race on the opening-day program at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

. In 2009, Cohen ranked 6th nationally in wins (288), and 24th in purse earnings ($7,357,326), competing in New York and the Mid-Atlantic. He had a 24% win percentage, and a 55% win-place-show percentage. In 2010, he had purse earnings of $6,982,006, 28th-highest in the nation. On October 13, 2011, at 26 years of age he rode his 1,000th career winner. In 2012 he won the $1 million

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

(G1) for 3-year-olds at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

aboard Golden Ticket. He then won riding titles at

Delaware Park Racetrack Delaware Park (also known as ''DelPark'') is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia ...

and Parx Racing. On February 1, 2014, he suffered a leg fracture. He was kicked by a horse at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

which broke his lower right leg's

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

and

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

, and underwent major surgery in which doctors inserted a plate and six screws in his leg.

Recent career

Cohen returned to racing on November 30, 2017, at

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. The ''Carrollton Race Cours ...

, following an absence of over three years during which time he rehabbed. In 2018 Cohen ranked 23rd nationally in purse earnings ($6,775,883). He was named 2018 Comeback Jockey of the Year by JockeyTalk360.com after amassing 114 victories. In 2019 Cohen won 75 races at

in Arkansas to end Ricardo Santana Jr.’s six-year reign as leading rider. Cohen ranked second to Santana in purse earnings in 2019 at Oaklawn ($2,580,456). Among his highlights in 2020 were riding Selflessly to victory in the

Lake George Stakes The Lake George Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one mile on the turf course scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curre ...

(G3) at Saratoga, and winning the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) aboard Keepmeinmind at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

. In 2021, at the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

he finished 7th aboard 50-1 shot Keepmeinmind. In 2022, he was inducted into the

."Cohen Hard at Work on Churchill Downs Backstretch,"
''Churchill Downs'', June 3, 2022. As of March 20, 2024, he had 1,644 career wins, and earnings of $65 million.

References

External links

Instagram account
*J. Keeler Johnson (April 27, 2021)
"Kentucky Derby jockey profile: David Cohen,"
''TwinSpires''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, David 1984 births 21st-century American Jews Living people Jewish American sportspeople Jockeys from Louisville, Kentucky Sportspeople from Arcadia, California Sportspeople from Las Vegas