Shortly after being born on Oct. 29, 1984, in Torsen, California, David Cohen was introduced to the horse racing scene with his dad. Morry Cohen was a well-respected and renowned owner, trainer and breeder on the California circuit, also David dove right into the family business. He started out by breaking young horses because of his daddy and progressed to becoming a groom and finally a trainer’s helper.
David Cohen subsequently spent several years in Las Vegas prior to going back to California to graduate from Laguna Beach High School. He started his riding career the next year, in 2004 at age 19, also notched his first winner a brief time afterwards at Del Mar on Aug. 11, aboard a horse named Quiten Boy, at odds of 45/1.
Head east, young man
Cohen later moved his tack to the eastern seaboard and procured riding names at Philadelphia Park (Parx) and Delaware Park before settling in New York. Back in 2009, he ranked sixth in the nation in wins, also in 2010, he had been the second leading rider among the big boys at the New York ovals, losing the riding title to Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez.
In 2012, Cohen was having among the best years of his career when he showed up in Saratoga for the Travers Stakes to ride a longshot called Golden Ticket. He would take on Alpha, a three-time stakes winner and the 2/1 favorite in the popular Godolphin barn.
Since the race went off, the two colts stalked the early pace and secured good position. As they turned for home, Cohen and Golden Ticket shot through an opening on the railroad and got clear from the stretch at odds of 33/1.
Nevertheless, the classy Alpha has been launching a sustained bidding of his own in the center of the racetrack, also as Golden Ticket drained a little nearing the cable, Alpha drifted to make it a photo finish. The result was a dead-heat, which remains the sole such outcome in the 149 runnings of this Travers. Cohen just about transported a tired Golden Ticket into the cable.
The pain train
On Feb. 1, 2014, David Cohen walked to the paddock in Aqueduct and was about to climb aboard a horse named Recoupe. He did not have a hint that this horse would change his life dramatically. Since Cohen stepped into the side of this horse, Recoupe suddenly reared and kicked outward striking Cohen at the right leg, seriously fracturing his fibula and tibia, which required surgery involving a plate and six screws.
Cohen worked for back in the match and was able to return to ride nine months after suffering his injury. He rode for a week and competed in six races, however, the rider had returned soon. His injuries hadn’t healed to the point of him ready to ride.
In the middle of trying to cure from his physical injuries, Cohen would also encounter some major mental challenges. His father became seriously ill and finally succumbed to complications from cancer.
“Growing up, my dad was in the company as an operator and a coach,” Cohen said. “As a family, we would go to Del Mar for your summertime. My brother, sister and Mother would go to the shore, and I would go to the racetrack as a young kid. I had been glued to my dad’s side. When I became a jockey, he moved to work with me all the time. He went around with me everywhere, to Dubai. He got to experience everything with me. We were near as can be. We were inseparable.”
Cohen was attempting to inch forward and recover from his physical problems, as well as deal with all the pain of his father’s death, when he was struck with yet another personal tragedy. His older sister, Dana, had died suddenly from a head injury.
“Even though she was my older sister, I played that older brother role,” Cohen said. “She and I had been really close. The two closest people in my immediate family were removed from inside a year-and-a-half of another”
Cohen took a while off and fought for a fantastic while but finally figured out what he needed to do. He missed the track and his friends. He missed the contest and also the horses, and he even missed riding in the sand. David Cohen had to ride to heal.
Let the healing begin
On November 30, 2017, at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Cohen rallied for his first race back after a three-and-a-half-year absence. He finished fourth on the helpless racetrack he missed dearly, but the comeback ride was every bit a winning trip for him and the fans. The child was back in the game.
Since his comeback, Cohen has been a busy fellow. He is ridden at the Fair Grounds, Churchill Downs, Woodbine, Del Mar, the New York ovals, and now he’s found a house at Oaklawn.
He’s ridden in over 9,000 races in his profession and accumulated around $50 million in earnings. He has endured the physical pain of a shattered leg and the anguish of losing two loved ones, and he came back from it all. David Cohen, who had been appointed comeback jockey of the year in 2018, is experienced, weathered and as serious as a heart attack about the job he enjoys.
“I’m at a fantastic place, doing what I love,” he said. “I’m just blessed to have the support from the trainers and owners and thankful to be in the position I’m now in, after this lengthy time off along with a severe injury.”
David Cohen is a warrior who is glad to be back in the saddle, and we’re very pleased to have him there.

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