The son of a veterinarian, Bill Mott would tag along on his father’s rounds and realized at an early age that his life would be spent around horses. He owned and trained his first horse, a $320 mare named My Assets who he won his first official race with at the age of 15. He worked his way up the ranks by becoming first an exercise rider, then an assistant trainer for Hall of Fame Trainer Jack Van Berg.
Bill has gone on to earn three Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Trainer (1995, 1996 and 2011) and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1998 at the young age of 45. He has won 9 training titles at Saratoga, 10 titles at Belmont Park, 9 at Gulfstream Park and 5 at Keeneland and is the all-time winningest trainer at Churchill Downs, setting a record for number of victories at a single Churchill Downs meeting of 54 at the spring of 1984.
Billy won 9 Breeders’ Cup races and trained 6 year-end champions: Royal Delta, the top 3-year-old filly of 2011; Ajina, the top 3-year-old filly of 1987; the phenomenal Cigar, the top older male and Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996; Escena, the top older female of 1998; Theatrical, the top turf male of 1987; and Paradise Creek, the top turf male of 1994. Other high profile stakes winners trained include Ron the Greek, Close Hatches, To Honor and Serve, Flat Out, Emollient, Royal Anthem, Fraise, Wekiva Springs and Drosselmeyer who won the Belmont in 2010.
Mott has enjoyed tremendous birthday luck having won 14 races on that day in 2012 as he turned 59. He has won over 4,400 races in total. Bill was also the recipient of the New York Turf Writers Association Outstanding Trainer Award in 1995, 1995 and 2000.
