Bill Mott
Encyclopedia
William I. "Bill" Mott is an American horse trainer
, most notable for his work with Cigar
. 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
in 1998 at the age of 45, becoming the second-youngest trainer ever inducted, after D.M. "Mikey" Smithwick (at 42 in 1971). Mott started out training and winning with his own thoroughbred horses at age 15, and won the South Dakota Futurity with Kosmic Tour before he was out of high school. He really excelled in the business by working his way up the ranks by becoming first, an exercise rider, then, an Assistant Trainer for legendary Hall of Fame Trainer Jack Van Berg. In 1976, Mott, the great Trainer Frank Brothers,(who was also Van Berg's Assistant Trainer), and a stellar 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 Jack 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 2003 when broken by Steve Asmussen with 555 wins. Asmussen has broken his own record in 2008 and 2009. Mott worked as an Assistant Trainer to the great Jack 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
, Hall of Fame jockey and race commentator Jerry Bailey said Mott is generally regarded as the best trainer for racing on turf
in the United States.
. 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
and 9 at Gulfstream Park
.
Mott set the record for number of victories at a single Churchill Downs
meeting with 54 during the 1984 spring meet
Mott ranks fourth in Breeders’ Cup money earned behind D. Wayne Lukas
, Robert Frankel and Shug McGaughey
and did not race as a two-year old, and 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
. After gaining his first win a few months later, his trainer switched him to racing on grass but the horse proved mediocre at best. The following year, his owner had Cigar shipped to an east-coast trainer, Bill Mott, who gave him the first half of the year off, only bringing him back to racing in July. After more disappointing results it was decided to give Cigar one more try racing on dirt, and on his first time back, at Aqueduct Racetrack
, he made an astonishing about-face, winning easily against quality competition.
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 Jerry Bailey, including the Pimlico Special
. Cigar capped off the year with an October victory in the $3 million U.S.
Breeders' Cup Classic
while setting a stakes record of 1:59.58 for the 1¼ mile (2012 m) distance. That year, Cigar was voted 1995 Champion Older Male and the most prestigious honor of all, the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
.
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 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to earn a victory in the inaugural Dubai World Cup
in Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
with a purse of $5 million. During the season, Cigar matched the accomplishment of the great Triple Crown champion Citation
, a record that had stood for almost 50 years, 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
at Del Mar Racetrack
.
The 1996 Woodward Stakes
at Belmont Park
was Cigar's last victory as a racehorse.
On June 5, 2010, Bill Mott won his first U.S. Triple Crown
race when Drosselmeyer
won the Belmont Stakes
.
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
, most notable for his work with Cigar
Cigar (horse)
Cigar , is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1995 and 1996 became the first American racehorse racing against top-class competition to win 16 consecutive races since the Triple Crown winner, Citation did so in 1948 and 1950...
. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer
The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for trainers. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer....
in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1998 at the age of 45, becoming the second-youngest trainer ever inducted, after D.M. "Mikey" Smithwick (at 42 in 1971). Mott started out training and winning with his own thoroughbred horses at age 15, and won the South Dakota Futurity with Kosmic Tour before he was out of high school. He really excelled in the business by working his way up the ranks by becoming first, an exercise rider, then, an Assistant Trainer for legendary Hall of Fame Trainer Jack Van Berg. In 1976, Mott, the great Trainer Frank Brothers,(who was also Van Berg's Assistant Trainer), and a stellar 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 Jack 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 2003 when broken by Steve Asmussen with 555 wins. Asmussen has broken his own record in 2008 and 2009. Mott worked as an Assistant Trainer to the great Jack 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
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 up willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on...
, Hall of Fame jockey and race commentator Jerry Bailey said Mott is generally regarded as the best trainer for racing on turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
in the United States.
Training Titles
From 1992 through 2007, Mott won 9 training titles at Saratoga Race CourseSaratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
. 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
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
and 9 at Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....
.
Mott set the record for number of victories at a single Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
meeting with 54 during the 1984 spring meet
Mott ranks fourth in Breeders’ Cup money earned behind D. Wayne Lukas
D. Wayne Lukas
Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...
, Robert Frankel and Shug McGaughey
Shug McGaughey
Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey, III is an American Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse trainer. He has earned wide respect in the industry as a man of great integrity....
Cigar
Cigar was owned by Allen E. PaulsonAllen E. Paulson
Allen Eugene Paulson was an American aviation entrepreneur, philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner, and a self-made multi-millionaire.-Business career in aviation:Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E...
and did not race as a two-year old, and 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
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. After gaining his first win a few months later, his trainer switched him to racing on grass but the horse proved mediocre at best. The following year, his owner had Cigar shipped to an east-coast trainer, Bill Mott, who gave him the first half of the year off, only bringing him back to racing in July. After more disappointing results it was decided to give Cigar one more try racing on dirt, and on his first time back, at Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, he made an astonishing about-face, winning easily against quality competition.
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 Jerry Bailey, including the Pimlico Special
Pimlico Special
The Pimlico Special is an American thoroughbred horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. It is raced on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles . The race is currently open to horses age three and older and offers a purse of $250,000.The Pimlico Special was first run in...
. Cigar capped off the year with an October victory in the $3 million U.S.
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
Breeders' Cup Classic
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 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
while setting a stakes record of 1:59.58 for the 1¼ mile (2012 m) distance. That year, Cigar was voted 1995 Champion Older Male and the most prestigious honor of all, the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
.
In 1996, the team of Cigar, Paulson, Mott, and Bailey won the Big Sport of Turfdom Award
Big Sport of Turfdom Award
The Big Sport of Turfdom Award has been given annually by the Turf Publicists of America since 1966 to a person or group who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media and Thoroughbred racing publicists....
.
Cigar continued his winning ways that year, including traveling more than 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to earn a victory in the inaugural Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
with a purse of $5 million. During the season, Cigar matched the accomplishment of the great Triple Crown champion Citation
Citation (horse)
Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
, a record that had stood for almost 50 years, 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
Pacific Classic Stakes
The Pacific Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for runners aged 3-year-old or up run at the classic American distance of a mile and a quarter...
at Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
.
The 1996 Woodward Stakes
Woodward Stakes
The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. Named for prominent racehorse owner, George Nicholas Woodward, it is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt for a purse of $750,000.The Woodward was run as a handicap in...
at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
was Cigar's last victory as a racehorse.
On June 5, 2010, Bill Mott won his first U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
race when Drosselmeyer
Drosselmeyer
Drosselmeyer is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the third leg of the 2010 U.S. Triple Crown series and the 2011 Breeders' Cup Classic.-Background:...
won the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
.