(Joe Sharp, left, and Brad Cox may be the only two contenders left for the Trainer’s Title at the Fair Grounds this meet)

And, then there were two.

Well, maybe. But it sure does look that way.

After Tuesday’s “Mardi Gras” festival of racing, the race for the Trainer’s Title at the current Fair Grounds’ meet appears that it is coming down to a match race between the young, brash, and ultra-competitive duo of Kentucky natives Brad Cox and Joe Sharp.

Not that someone else in the training community cannot make a closing run, mind you. But it would have to be one heck of a sustained run to get back in the mix with both Cox and Sharp, who have pulled away to a substantial lead over their friends in the training community.

To date, Cox, who also has a string over at Oaklawn Park that is doing quite well, has started 104 horses since the Fair Grounds’ meet started last November. Out of that group, 33 have found the finish line first and have found themselves in the winner’s circle with a Cox family reunion.

That’s puts Cox, the Louisville native, on top, with a win percentage of an impressive .32%, while all his horses have hit the  board .59% of the time.

Right behind him, though, and closing in may be Sharp, the man from Lexington. So far, he has saddled 124 horses and has won 31 times, with 17 seconds and 20 thirds. His win percentage sits at .25%, and his horses have hit the board .55% of the time.

The next closest trainer in the win column is Tom Amoss, a longtime star in the Louisiana racing circuit and a perennial contender for the Trainer’s Title at the Fair Grounds. But he finds himself 10 wins behind the front-running Cox with about a month to go in the meet.

Here is a closer look at the Top 25:

1 Brad H. Cox 104 — 33 12 16 $915,975 32% 59%
2 Albert M. Stall, Jr. 92 — 18 19 8 $753,336 20% 49%
3 Joe Sharp 124 — 31 17 20 $669,180 25% 55%
4 Michael Stidham 87 — 18 12 11 $625,775 21% 47%
5 W. Bret Calhoun 104 — 18 16 10 $517,095 17% 42%
6 Thomas M. Amoss 85 — 23 15 10 $471,890 27% 56%
7 Steven M. Asmussen 95 — 10 14 14 $453,760 11% 40%
8 Mark E. Casse 54 — 11 10 1 $416,560 20% 41%
9 Karl Broberg 89 — 12 10 12 $299,197 13% 38%
10 Ron Faucheux 65 — 7 18 6 $294,530 11% 48%
11 Brendan P. Walsh 38 — 5 7 6 $235,420 13% 47%
12 Steve Margolis 34 — 8 5 8 $216,420 24% 62%
13 Michael J. Maker 35 — 6 6 4 $215,690 17% 46%
14 Sam B. David, Jr. 40 — 9 9 6 $204,540 23% 60%
15 Hugh H. Robertson 44 — 6 10 4 $202,890 14% 45%
16 Danny Pish 46 — 4 7 8 $202,535 9% 41%
17 Dallas Stewart 36 — 4 7 6 $200,496 11% 47%
18 J. Larry Jones 53 — 6 6 4 $198,390 11% 30%
19 James E. Hodges 31 — 7 3 5 $194,896 23% 48%
20 Scott Gelner 50 — 6 8 9 $189,100 12% 46%
21 Thomas F. Proctor 28 — 3 9 5 $183,590 11% 61%
22 Bernard S. Flint 42 — 7 4 3 $181,190 17% 33%
23 Edward J. Johnston 38 — 6 4 4 $179,915 16% 37%
24 Gary M. Scherer 42 — 6 6 8 $177,320 14% 48%
25 Howard Alonzo 52 — 7 1 5 $174,410 13% 25%