William I. Mott

Horseracing personalities infobox
name = William I. Mott


caption =
occupation = Trainer
birthplace = Mobridge, South Dakota, U.S.
birth date = July 29, 1953
death date =
career wins = 3780+ (ongoing)
race = Blue Grass Stakes (1984)
Apple Blossom Handicap (1985, 1985, 1998)
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Inv. Handicap (1987, 2005)
Man o' War Stakes (1987)
Jim Dandy Stakes (1990, 1995, 1998)
Brooklyn Handicap (1992, 1996)
Hollywood Derby (1992)
Jersey Derby (1993, 2000)
Test Stakes (1993, 2000)
Arlington Million (1994)
Turf Classic Stakes (1994, 2004)
Washington, D.C. International Stakes (1994)
Donn Handicap (1995, 1996)
Hollywood Gold Cup (1995)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1995)
Pimlico Special (1995)
Oaklawn Handicap (1995, 1996)
Woodward Stakes (1995, 1996)
Suburban Handicap (1996)
Mother Goose Stakes (1997)
Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (1998, 2001)
Virginia Derby (2002, 2003)
Diana Handicap (2005, 2006, 2007)
Hopeful Stakes (2007)
Alabama Stakes (2005)
Pacific Classic Stakes (2008)

Breeders' Cup wins:
Breeders' Cup Turf (1987, 1992)
Breeders' Cup Classic (1995)
Breeders' Cup Distaff (1997, 1998)

International races:
Canadian International Stakes (1995)
Dubai World Cup (1996)
awards = Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer (1995, 1996)
Big Sport of Turfdom Award (1996)
honours = National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (1998)
horses = Ajina, Banshee Breeze, Cigar, Escena
Favorite Trick, Fraise, My Typhoon, Paradise Creek
Royal Anthem, Theatrical, Wekiva Springs
updated = CURRENTTIME, CURRENTDAYNAME CURRENTMONTHNAME CURRENTDAY CURRENTYEAR (UTC)

William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953 in Mobridge, South Dakota) 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 youngest trainer ever inducted. 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 stills stands today. 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.

Training Titles

From 1992 through 2007, Mott won 9 training titles at Saratoga Race Course. He won the 2007 Saratoga Trainer's Title with 27 wins marking his first return to that title at the "Spa" since 2001 [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/features/saratoga07/ Summer at the Spa ] ] . 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 [ [http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=2266 Bill Mott - NTRA ] ]

Mott ranks fourth in Breeders’ Cup money earned behind D. Wayne Lukas, Bobby Frankel and Shug McGaughey

Cigar

Cigar was owned by Allen E. Paulson 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 1 1/4 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.

Cigar was found sterile and was retired to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky where he resides in the Hall of Champions. His many fans can visit him there. www.kyhorsepark.com

References

* [http://www.nydailynews.com/features/saratoga07/ NY Daily News - 2007 Saratoga]