COX NAMED TOBA MEMBER OF THE MONTH

(From TOBA press release) Congratulations to Nellie Cox, TOBA’s latest member of the month. A resident of Goochland, Va., she has been a member of TOBA since 1996.

Mrs. Cox (pictured with former Virginia Governor and current U.S. Senator Mark Warner) has enjoyed a lifelong interest in Thoroughbred racing. While growing up in Virginia, she stayed current on the Thoroughbred industry by reading the local newspaper.

“They carried a lot of Thoroughbred news in those days,” she said. Mrs. Cox initially owned Saddlebreds, but moved to hunter jumpers when her daughters became interested in showing. After her children entered college, Mrs. Cox turned her attention to Thoroughbreds.

Her first Thoroughbred venture began in 1988 when her friend Bill Collins sold her a half-interest in Shining Crown. The horse won early on and was claimed shortly thereafter. Mrs. Cox was crushed, but it didn’t take long for her to increase her involvement, as she quickly purchased more horses.

Today the Cox family operates Rose Retreat Farm, a commercial breeding operation in Goochland, Va. They have a small broodmare band that has consistently produced winners. Miss Alethia, the farm’s most prominent broodmare, produced Grade I winner Showing Up (who won the 2006 Colonial Turf Cup), as well as multiple stakes winner Gimmeawink. Rose Retreat Farm sells the majority of its horses commercially, only keeping a select few. Plantation, a West Virginia-bred foaled and raised by the Cox family, recently won his stakes debut in the Private Term Stakes at Laurel Park in March of 2010.

(In addition, Cox bred 2003 Virginia-bred Horse of the Year Be Gentle. The filly by Tale of the Cat, out of Gentlelilstar by Risen Star won over $523,000 including the Alcibiades Stakes Gr.II and the Golden Rod Stakes Gr.II.)

Mrs. Cox attributes her success to Mike Akers, her bloodstock agent. “We are very fortunate, but we owe a lot to Mike,” she said. Akers purchased Miss Alethia on behalf of Rose Retreat Farm in 1998. Akers assisted Mrs. Cox with the development of her breeding and racing program.

Mrs. Cox is involved with several Thoroughbred organizations including the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, TOBA and the Virginia HBPA. New owner recruitment is as important for her as it is for TOBA.

“It is wonderful that we have an organization such as TOBA that works to educate new owners,” she said. Her love of the game is contagious, as she has recruited three couples from the area into her racing partnerships. The group meets for dinner each Thursday night and discusses the horses.

Outside of racing, Mrs. Cox divides her time between family and work. With three children and seven grandchildren, she is quite busy following their sports and academic activities. When not on the sidelines, Mrs. Cox helps out in the office at S.B. Cox, Inc., the family’s principal business.

TOBA congratulates Nellie Cox on all of her Thoroughbred achievements.