Cox takes a De Francis swing with Wickeddivine
4yo rides three-race win streak
The Biz
June 25, 2026
Trainer Kenny Cox has waited more than three decades to take another shot at the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash.
On Saturday at Laurel Park, he’ll send out Wickeddivine in the $175,000 sprint, hoping the hard-knocking Maryland-bred can give him an even better ending than the one he got in 1993, when Flaming Emperor missed by just a half-length in the De Francis.
“I haven’t had one that I was willing to put back in since those days,” Cox said.
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That changes with Wickeddivine, a bargain $10,000 yearling purchase who has blossomed into one of Maryland’s more promising sprinters. The 4-year-old Maryland-bred son of Divining Rod enters the De Francis off three consecutive victories, having climbed from allowance company to open-condition ranks while winning four of five starts this season.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked coming up to this, so we’re kind of excited about what’s going to happen,” Cox said. “I know it’s a tough ask, but I think he deserves a chance at this point.”
Wickeddivine’s most recent victory may have been his most impressive. In a second-level allowance May 16, he overcame traffic trouble, engaged in a prolonged stretch duel and prevailed by three-quarters of a length under regular rider Jeiron Barbosa.
The gelding has steadily improved since returning from a layoff last fall. In his first start out after nearly a year off, Wickeddivine was third beaten a half-length, and Cox said Barbosa recognized the horse’s potential immediately after riding him for the first time.
“He ran huge off the layoff against older horses,” Cox recalled. “Barbosa came back and said, ‘I think this horse could win a stake.’”
Now comes the biggest test of his career.
The De Francis field includes several accomplished rivals, headed by Maryland Sprint (G3) runner-up Faust. Faust nearly won that race before settling for second by a head, while local standout Haileysfirstnotion was third after pressing the pace throughout.
Others in the lineup include graded-stakes winner Pentathlon, New York-based Full Moon Madness, local veteran Slam Notion, and Maryland stakes performer Celtic Contender.
Haileysfirstnotion, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, is expected to scratch. With his scratch, the Shug McGaughey-trained Pentathlon, third in the Grade 3 Westchester last out, inherits the favorite’s mantle at 9-2.
Ron Moquett will send out Hymn (8-1), a winner of two straight moving back into stakes company for the first time since December.
“The De Francis is historical,” said Moquett, who saddled 2015 De Francis winner Gentlemen’s Bet. “It’s still my favorite trophy from winning a particular race. It was a classy trophy. If you grew up and saw the horses [that have won], they were historical, bad-ass horses.”
For Cox, though, the story begins with the horse himself.
Cox originally bought Wickeddivine for another client, but when that owner decided against waiting for the horse to mature, Bonuccelli Racing stepped in.
“Charlie and them did the right thing, gave the horse time off,” Cox said. “He’s come back, he’s been great.”
The success fits a pattern for Cox, who has made a career of finding value at the sales. He points to horses such as C J’s Star and Super Chunky as examples of inexpensive purchases that outran their price tags.
“Most of mine were me and my wife [Kelly] working through the sales trying to find that diamond in the rough,” he said.
Wickeddivine may be the latest example. The Maryland-bred has already earned more than $160,000 and arrives at the De Francis off a sharp half-mile breeze in :48 3/5 June 21 that was the fifth-fastest of 91 that day.
Whether he can handle the class jump remains to be seen. But after 33 years away from one of Maryland’s signature sprint races, Cox believes he’s bringing the right horse.
“I think he deserves a chance,” he said.
Saturday will tell whether that chance leads to a long-awaited return to the De Francis winner’s circle.
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