[1] Cohen is Jewish and was born and raised in California, where he had his bar mitzvah, lived in Arcadia, California, then in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he graduated from Bonanza High School, and his hometown is New York.
[13] Cohen was introduced to racing by his father, an owner and breeder in Southern California.
[13][9] On December 26, 2005, he won his first Grade 1 race on the opening-day program at Santa Anita Park.
[14] In 2009, Cohen ranked 6th nationally in wins (288), and 24th in purse earnings ($7,357,326), competing in New York and the Mid-Atlantic.
[9] In 2012 he won the $1 million Travers Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course aboard Golden Ticket.
[10][2] He then won riding titles at Delaware Park Racetrack and Parx Racing.