William “Rusty” Cox still going strong at Rosecroft

Waldorf, Maryland resident William “Rusty” Cox has been training standardbreds for the better part of four decades and the longtime local harness racing horseman is enjoying the recent successes of the only two pacers he conditions.

Cox, an Oxon Hill High School graduate who has lived in Waldorf for 25 years, currently trains pacers Dice Dice Baby (Rockin Cam) and Hide The Cheddar (Betterthancheddar), both of which made multiple trips to the winner’s circle at Rosecroft Raceway during the recently concluded winter-spring meet. Now he is hoping the long trips to Ocean Downs, a half-mile harness racing oval in Berlin, five miles west of Ocean City, will be equally rewarding.

“I’ve probably been going to Rosecroft now for 45 years and been racing there most of my life,” said Cox, who has trained 155 winners with lifetime earnings of nearly $870,000. He has also driven another 25 winners while competing primarily in the Mid-Atlantic Amateur races.

“We lived near the track most of my life. I’ve learned a lot working for a lot of good trainers before going out on my own,” he said.

Cox only trains a pair of pacers right now but his small stable hardly went unnoticed during the Rosecroft winter-spring meet. Dice Dice Baby, a 6-year-old Rockincam mare that he trains for owner-breeder Michael Somerville of Florida, won twice during the meet including a 16-1 upset in the $10,000 Filly-Mare Open on April 16 three weeks after forging a 21-1 stunner in a conditioned event.

“She really just seemed to get a little better with each start during the meet,” said Cox, who recorded his first win as a driver behind Super Martha. “But the most rewarding thing for me was seeing and hearing how happy the owner was after she won those races. When he sent her to me last winter I was hoping that she could find the right classes to compete in. She stayed really consistent the whole meet.”

Hide The Cheddar, an 8-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding that he trains for owner Carolyn Oglseby, also recorded a pair of wins against overnight foes at Rosecroft during the spring and recently finished second at Ocean Downs. He rallied to edge non-winners of $1,500 last four starts conditioned pacers on May 18, two months after prevailing against non-winners of $3,000 last four starts company on March 21.

“One thing about Cheddar is you know each week he’s always going to pace around 1:53,” Cox said. “So with him it’s just a matter of being in the right class and getting a decent draw. He’s worked his way up into the Open once or twice over the years. He’s probably not really an Open horse but he’s going to give you a good effort every time he goes out there.”

by Ted Black, for the Southern Maryland News