William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

, most notable for his work with

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 1998 at the age of 45, becoming the youngest thoroughbred trainer ever inducted. Mott started training thoroughbreds at age 15 and won the South Dakota Futurity with Kosmic Tour before he was out of high school. 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. In 1976, Mott, trainer Frank Brothers (who was also Van Berg's assistant trainer), and a stable crew guided Van Berg's horses through the wins at Sportsman's, Hawthorne and Arlington Park race tracks in Chicago. They were so successful that Van Berg was named leading trainer at Arlington Park and leading trainer in the Nation with 496 wins in 1976, a record that stood until Steve Asmussen broke it in 2003 with 555 wins. Asmussen broke his own record in 2008 and 2009. Mott worked as an assistant trainer for Van Berg for three years before striking out on his own in 1978. On the July 28, 2007, ABC Sports broadcast of the

Diana Handicap The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and ...

, Hall of Fame jockey and race commentator

Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas but raised in El Paso. He had a pony as a child and became int ...

said Mott is generally regarded as the best trainer for racing on turf in the United States.

Training Titles

From 1992 through 2007, Mott won 9 training titles at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...

. He won the 2007 Saratoga Trainer's Title with 27 wins, marking his first return to that title at the "Spa" since 2001. He's also won 10 titles at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

and 9 at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

. Mott set the record for number of victories at a single

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was p ...

meeting with 54 during the 1984 spring meet.Bill Mott – NTRA
/ref> Mott ranks fourth in

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

money earned behind

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...

, Robert Frankel and Shug McGaughey. Mott recorded his 5000th career win on 20th June 2020 when Moon Over Miami won the 3rd race at Churchill Downs.

Cigar

Cigar was owned by Allen E. Paulson and did not race as a two-year-old. Under trainer Alex Hassinger, he made an unsuccessful debut in early 1993 in a six-furlong (1,207 m) race on a dirt track in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. After he broke his maiden a few months later, his trainer switched him to racing on grass, but the horse proved mediocre at best. The following year, his owner shipped Cigar to East Coast trainer Bill Mott, who gave him the first half of the year off, bringing him back to racing in July. After more disappointing results on turf, it was decided to give Cigar one more try racing on dirt. In his first attempt, at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing m ...

, he won easily. For the following year's racing season, Cigar proved to be the best horse in North America, winning all ten major races he entered under jockey

, including the Pimlico Special. Cigar capped off the year with an October victory in the $3 million U.S.

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

while setting a stakes record of 1:59.58 for the distance. That year, Cigar was voted 1995 Champion Older Male and received the

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Ho ...

. In 1996, the team of Cigar, Paulson, Mott, and Bailey won the Big Sport of Turfdom Award. Cigar continued his winning ways that year, including traveling more than to earn a victory in the inaugural

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

with a purse of $5 million. During the season, Cigar matched the decades-old accomplishment of Triple Crown champion

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

by winning his 16th race in a row in the Arlington Citation Challenge. Cigar failed in his bid to break the record when he lost to Dare and Go in the

Pacific Classic Stakes The Pacific Classic Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one quarter miles on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The ...

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...

. The 1996 Woodward Stakes at

was Cigar's last victory. On May 4, 2019, Mott won his first U.S. Triple Crown race when Country House won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

by disqualification.

References

2007 ''New York Daily News'' article section on the Saratoga racing titled "''Everything goes right for Mott''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mott, William I. American horse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Eclipse Award winners 1953 births Living people People from Mobridge, South Dakota Sportspeople from South Dakota