Bill Mott
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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 responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...
, most notable for his work with
Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...
. Mott earned the
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 Outstandi ...
in 1995, 1996, 2011, 2013. 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.


Life and career

Mott was born on July 29, 1953, Mobridge, South Dakota. He started training thoroughbreds at age 15 with his family, and won the ''South Dakota Futurity'' at Park Jefferson 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 Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...
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 Steven Mark Asmussen (born November 18, 1965) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins, he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Mu ...
broke it in 2003 with 555 wins. 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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...
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 an ...
, Hall of Fame jockey and race commentator
Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957) is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey and current NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas, Texas bu ...
said Mott is generally regarded as the best trainer for racing on
turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''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, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...
. 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 thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
and 9 at
Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for ...
. Mott set the record for number of victories at a single
Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...
meeting with 54 during the 1984 spring meet. Mott ranks fourth in
Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...
money earned behind
D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a retired 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 h ...
, 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. 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, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...
, 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
Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957) is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey and current NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas, Texas bu ...
, including the
Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $250,000. ...
. Cigar capped off the year with an October victory in the $3 million
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
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 in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...
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, or simply 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 san ...
. In 1996, the team of Cigar, Paulson, Mott, and Bailey won the
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. The Turf Pu ...
. 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 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...
in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
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 an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually August or September at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. This Grade I race is open to horses, age three and up, which race one and one-quarter miles on the ...
at
Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...
. The 1996
Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade Il stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Ra ...
at
Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
was Cigar's last victory.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mott, William I. 1953 births Living people American racehorse trainers Eclipse Award winners People from Mobridge, South Dakota Sportspeople from South Dakota United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees