Episode #506. Riley Mott🏇🌹American Thoroughbred Horsetrainer | KENTUCKY DERBY 152🏇🌹
Riley Mott is a young Thoroughbred racehorse trainer & son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott—yes, that Bill Mott, trainer of Cigar and multiple Kentucky Derby/Belmont/Breeders’ Cup winners.
Riley grew up in his father’s shadow, worked as Bill’s assistant, then launched his own public stable in late 2022.
The headline version: Riley is no longer just “Bill Mott’s son.” He is becoming a serious trainer in his own right.
His first winner came with only his third starter, when Unifying won at Churchill Downs on Nov. 10, 2022.
By October 2025, America’s Best Racing listed him with 97 wins from 610 starters and more than $7 million in purses, with a stable of about 60 horses.
As of the 2026 Derby trail, Riley’s profile jumped big-time: he trained Albus and Incredibolt, giving him his first Kentucky Derby starters in the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
That also created a rare father-son Derby storyline, with Bill and Riley both training horses in the same Run for the Roses — reportedly the first such father-son Derby matchup since 1964.
He also has a Kentucky connection: Riley graduated from the University of Kentucky with an economics degree and often spent time at Keeneland during college.
Riley Mott is a next-generation horseman from one of racing’s great training families — Bill Mott’s son, former assistant, UK grad, and now an emerging Grade 1/Kentucky Derby-level trainer building his own name.