Riley Mott watched his dad win the Kentucky Derby. Now, he’s competing against him
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- Riley Mott is making his Kentucky Derby debut as a trainer in this year’s race.
- Mott will saddle Albus and Incredibolt in the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
- Mott is a son of Bill Mott, a legendary trainer who won the Derby in 2019 and 2025.
Riley Mott knows how this will sound, so he offers a qualifier beforehand.
A charismatic young trainer who is set to make his Kentucky Derby debut on Saturday, Mott says he’s not trying to be bold or cocky when explaining that he’s not surprised to be in this position.
Mott, 34, has two horses in this year’s Run for the Roses, as Albus and Incredibolt are set to be among the 20 runners in this year’s Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
This could be viewed as a prodigious achievement for most trainers, and the kind that may not be replicated for the rest of their careers.
Mott isn’t most trainers, though.
He’s a son of 72-year-old Bill Mott, the hall-of-fame conditioner who saddled 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House (a victory achieved via disqualification) and last year’s Derby champion, Sovereignty, who also won the 2025 Belmont Stakes.
Riley, who grew up around the sport, was an assistant trainer to his father for nearly nine years. In late 2022, Riley went out on his own. Less than four years later, he has a legit chance to win the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby in his first opportunity.
“I’ve experienced working with high-level horses in my dad’s operation for many, many years. I kind of have a pretty good blueprint on how to campaign a good horse,” Riley told the Herald-Leader. “We’ve been able to cultivate a very good team. So I’m not surprised with how our team’s executed, but certainly humbled that we’ve been able to get our hands on some good horses.”
He also has the chance to gain family bragging rights. Bill has another Derby horse this year with Chief Wallabee, meaning Bill and Riley will become just the second father-son duo to both saddle horses in the same Kentucky Derby.
The only previous father-son duo to train horses in the same Derby was Red Wingfield and Bobby Wingfield in the 1964 race. Neither Wingfield won, with Dandy K (trained by father Red) finishing eighth and Wil Rad (saddled by son Bobby) coming home 10th.
While the Motts are hoping for a better outcome this week, Riley remains aware of the moment at hand.
“People work their entire lives in this industry, and they never get to come across a quality horse that will get them to this point,” Riley said. “I think there’s a lot of talented horsemen and horsewomen who never get the opportunity or the chance. It’s sometimes a lot of luck involved, but we’ve been really fortunate to work for the people we work for that give us the opportunity.”
Riley Mott grew up around horse racing through his father, Bill
One of the defining lessons Riley learned from his upbringing in the sport was the importance of building a strong stable team.
That’s a key factor in how Bill’s horses have amassed more than $370 million in earnings. The elder Mott has sent out more than 5,600 winners and, despite his Derby triumphs, remains best known as the trainer of Cigar, who won 16 straight races in 1995-96 including the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
For the record, Bill had his first Kentucky Derby runner at age 29 with Taylor’s Special in 1984.
“When I started out on my own, I put an emphasis on cultivating an excellent team,” Riley said. “So when the opportunity arises to get good horses, you’re ready for it.”
That opportunity arrived this Derby prep season with Albus and Incredibolt.
Both horses are owned by Pin Oak Stud, a thoroughbred racing and breeding farm in Versailles. In late 2022, right as Riley began his solo training career, Jim and Dana Bernhard purchased Pin Oak.
“You always remember the people that helped you get your start. They were one of my first clients when I went out on my own,” Riley said. “That in itself is very special and meaningful. To have two horses qualified and pointing for the Derby for them just really means the world. It’s the cherry on top. We’re obviously trying to go win the race, but just to be able to experience this week with the Pin Oak team is ultra special.”
The relationship between Riley and Pin Oak has taken a deeper, more emotional meaning in recent months. Jim, a Louisiana business executive, died in November at age 71 following a brief illness.
“This is something everyone wishes he was here for, and we’ll try to give it our best shot for Mr. Bernhard,” Riley said.
What chances do Albus, Incredibolt have in 2026 Kentucky Derby?
Riley — who graduated from the University of Kentucky with an economics degree and was a frequent presence at Keeneland during his college years — is one of only three trainers in this year’s Derby field with multiple runners, along with Chad Brown and Brad Cox.
Each of Riley’s horses is a threat to win the race.
Albus and Incredibolt both trained at Churchill Downs in 2025 as 2-year-olds, so they’re familiar with their surroundings.
Albus — who was assigned post position No. 2 and has morning-line odds of 30-1 — has won his two most recent starts, including the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. Eleven horses have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby after winning the Wood Memorial, with the most recent being Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.
The most recent runner in the Wood Memorial to win the Derby was Funny Cide in 2003. Since then, 43 horses who ran in the Wood Memorial have tried and failed to win the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.
“He showed a lot of professionalism in the Wood, taking a lot of dirt and weaving in and out of traffic,” Riley said of Albus, who rallied from eighth place to win the race. “At the same time, (he) showed room for improvement when he hit the lead and he sort of idled waiting on horses.”
Albus finished third in a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs in November.
Saturday will be Manny Franco’s first start on Albus and his seventh in the Derby. The 31-year-old finished second in the 2020 race with Tiz the Law.
Incredibolt has won three of five career starts, including a pair of victories last year on the dirt at Churchill in a maiden special weight race in September and in the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes in October. Those wins came at 1-mile and 1 1/16-mile distances.
Incredibolt — who will begin the Derby from post position No. 11 — was sired by 2018 Kentucky Derby runner Bolt d’Oro. In his most recent race in March, Incredibolt used a late inside move to win going away in the Virginia Derby after finishing sixth in January in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
“I thought he had a very dynamic win in the Virginia Derby, showed a great deal of acceleration in the last quarter-mile and galloped out well,” Riley said.
Jaime Torres of Puerto Rico, 27, will ride Incredibolt in the Derby. It’s the first Derby mount for Torres, who has been aboard Incredibolt for all five of his starts.
The Mott family prepares for a special Kentucky Derby
The 2025 Kentucky Derby was plenty special for the Mott family.
Following Sovereignty’s win, members of the family piled into the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. This included Bill’s wife, Tina, along with Riley and his wife, Megan. Riley’s siblings, Olivia and Brady, were also tuned into the race results.
Both Bill and Riley are saddling contenders in this year’s Derby, though, as the elder Mott has Chief Wallabee, who has morning-line odds of 8-1 and is set to leave from post position No. 12.
What will the family dynamic look like Saturday?
“My mom always tells me she’s rooting for me when my dad and I are running against each other,” Riley said. “She’ll text me, ‘I’m rooting for you.’ It’s been fun. I’ll have my sister coming in for the Derby, and my whole wife’s side of the family. So it’s special. Just to be able to compete at this level is really cool, and having family around for it who supported you your whole life really means a lot.”
When asked how he plans to approach everything that’s set to come his way this week, Riley went back to the simple truths he learned from his father.
“It’s pretty much business as usual. It’s a big stage and it’s a very big race, obviously, but we’re not trying to do anything out of the ordinary for us,” Riley said. “We’re trying to do what got us to this point, and not necessarily try to reinvent the wheel or anything like that. It’s a special time, and we’re cognizant of the magnitude of the Derby, but at the same time we don’t want to lose focus of the task at hand.”
