LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Katie Tolbert, an assistant and exercise rider for champion trainer Brad Cox, suffered a serious injury to her left leg before dawn during training hours Friday at Churchill Downs. She was transported by ambulance to the University of Louisville Hospital for treatment. According to witnesses, Tolbert was injured when an unraced 2-year-old she was aboard suddenly reared up after standing in close proximity to the outer rail in the homestretch, throwing her into a grandstand box-seat railing. Training at Churchill was halted for nearly 40 minutes while medical personnel attended to the emergency. Tolbert has been a key employee for Cox since coming to work for him nearly two years ago at Palm Meadows in Florida, accompanying the barn’s top horses to Churchill, Saratoga, Oaklawn Park, and elsewhere. A 2006 Clemson University graduate and a nearly 10-year employee at now-defunct Sagamore Farm in Maryland, she was the regular exercise for two-time Eclipse Award champion Essential Quality and a number of other standouts for Cox. This year, she has been instrumental in the progress of the top 3-year-old Cyberknife, among others. Cox was voted the Eclipse for outstanding trainer in 2020 and 2021. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.