Training on his own since Nov. 1 of last year, Riley Mott received the best education possible to prepare him for that moment, working alongside his Hall of Fame father, Bill Mott, for a decade as one of his assistants.

Subscribe now!

Mott, 31, quickly established himself as a trainer on the rise by winning his first race with his third starter, Unifying, at Churchill Downs Nov. 10. And it was Unifying who provided the young horseman with his first stakes winner, in the Leslie’s Lady Overnight Stakes at Ellis Park June 11.

Unifying, owned by Sheri Greenberg, Staghawk Stables, Tom Reiman, and Ronald Johnson, is a 3-year-old daughter of Union Rags who has won three races for Mott. He is among the 40 horses under his care in Kentucky.

As well as attracting new owners, several of his father’s owners have supported him on this next journey in his career, including Frank Fletcher, who has horses with both Motts. Among the 2-year-olds the younger Mott has for Fletcher is a homebred son of Into Mischief, Top Gun Rocket, an unraced full brother to Frank’s Rockette, a multiple graded stakes winner with earnings topping $1.4 million who is trained by his father.

Riley Mott and his wife, Megan, live in Louisville, Ky., and have a 1 1/2-year-old daughter, Margot, and a son, William, who was born in June.

Mott was interviewed June 28, and his answers are edited for clarity and space.

BloodHorse: Now that you’ve been on your own since last fall, what has the experience been like for you? How is it different from being an assistant in your father’s barn?

Riley Mott: That’s a question I’ve been asked a lot recently. My answer is that it’s actually not really any different from what I was doing for my dad. My routine is basically the exact same — give or take a thing or two. But what that boils down to, is that I was pretty well groomed and trained for this moment.

The major difference is the financial aspect of it. Starting your own business, in any industry, is a major cost and a risk — one that I was happy to take.

Unifying winning the Leslie’s Lady Stakes. (Coady Photography)

BH: What was the feeling like to have won your first stakes last month with Unifying — the same filly that gave you your first win in November and a horse trained by your father when making her career debut?

RM: Pretty cool because [Unifying] was my first winner, first stakes winner, and actually the first horse we ever bought, so she is pretty special. We purchased her knowing that she would end up in my barn. She debuted with my dad [finishing second in September], just because my start date was Nov. 1.

Not to sound cocky or unappreciative about [winning my first stakes], but I’ve been in that situation so often with my dad that winning a stakes — while you’re super excited about it — is kind of a normal type of feeling. I’m not saying that I expected to win my first stakes so early in my career, and I was, obviously, over the moon, but it was a feeling that I felt before. But, I tell you what, the more you win, the hungrier you are. It just makes me want to do it again ... very soon.

I was really happy for the owners. They stuck their necks out for me early on and they are really good people and it’s a big partnership. You’re always happy for the people who support you early on.

BH: At what age did you determine that you wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps?

RM: It was most likely before my 10th birthday. There was no specific time or moment that I remember making that decision, but I was obviously exposed to the game and the business from the get-go, growing up in my parents’ household. I started going to the barn at a very, very young age, mostly to expend energy. I was a pretty hyperactive child. They sent me to the barn in the early morning to let some steam out and it grew into a major passion at a young age.

I feel so lucky that I found that passion early in life because growing up, while in high school and college, I knew people that didn’t have the first clue about what they wanted to do after their education. Knowing what I wanted to do probably saved me a lot of stress — not having to soul search.

BH: How did you determine that you were ready to leave your father’s barn? Was this a plan long in the making?

RM: Probably was thinking about it for three or four years before I went out on my own, but I was trying to determine what the right time was, and if there ever was a right time.

I had opportunities to do it prior. But my dad had always told me that it wasn’t about getting an opportunity; it was about getting the right opportunity.

When I chose to let my dad know that I was going out on my own, on this date and this year, it wasn’t necessarily about an owner saying, ‘I’m going to send you 20 horses to go out on your own.’ It was, more or less, something I decided on my own and I started formulating my plan of attack after that. I spoke to my dad about it probably one year prior to me going out on my own. I wanted to give myself a long period of time to do things in a meticulous [manner]. I wanted to have all my ducks in a row.

BH: Do you miss those times in your dad’s barn, particularly because of his continued success?

Trainer Bill Mott (Eclipse Sportswire)

RM: Oh, absolutely. It wasn’t hard to leave because I had been wanting to do this for so many years. But last year, my dad had the best numbers of his career, and I left him at that time. So that just kind of goes to show people how serious I was about starting this new chapter. I could have easily stayed his assistant for the next 10 years — rode the wave and made extremely good money, and worked with top, top horses, and people alike. I’m so glad that Dad has continued to do well, but, yeah, I probably left him, arguably, in the prime of his career.

BH: What was your most memorable win or experience while in your father’s barn?

RM: [Winning] the Kentucky Derby [with Country House in 2019 via the disqualification of Maximum Security] was a very unique experience. Probably an experience that we will never have again ... not to say [my father] or I won’t win the Derby someday, but not that particular experience.

My dad and I were in the tunnel after the race, walking down to unsaddle, and were hugging, high-fiving, and crying in excitement [because we finished second with Country House and fourth with Tacitus]. Just that roller coaster of emotion, like waiting for the inquiry and then getting put up. Once they put us up, we’re walking into the winner’s circle and I’m telling myself, ‘Okay, you just won via disqualification, don’t make a fool of yourself by over-celebrating.’ That was just a wild experience.

To experience that with my dad was so cool. He’s my best friend, he’s my mentor, he’s my dad. That was really special.

BH: What was the single most important piece of advice your father gave you about training horses?

RM: He was never one to grab you aside and say, ‘Hey, this is how you do this and that.’ It was more like I would learn via observation. A big piece of advice he gave me from a very young age was don’t burn bridges with people. This is a game where if you’re a trainer, you’re going to get fired at one point. If you haven’t gotten fired, you haven’t done this long enough. He always just stressed that you don’t hold it against people, keep your relationships intact, and that it all comes back around. The amount of people who have taken horses from my dad and then in a few years later come back and send him a few and then they have success ...

There’s so much that I’ve learned from him. Not to sound cocky about it, but it’s just been such an easy transition for me to start training because I was so well prepared. Just watching him my whole life and seeing how he treats people and his staff, and seeing how he treats the horses and approaches the training, I’ve been so lucky to not only be a fly on the wall, but to be an integral part of the operation, which has helped me so much.

Riley Mott (Anne Eberhardt/Blood-Horse)

BH: How about life advice from your father?

RM: Maybe I’m biased, but I think he is one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met. He sees both sides to every story. He has a lot of empathy and knows how other people feel. He can relate to them and that’s something I’ve really taken from him. I feel like that he has passed that along to me, which I find very valuable in life. I think being able to see things through the lens of others around you is so important.

BH: You’ve become a trainer during a very challenging time for the industry, which is under intense scrutiny by the public. How does that impact your mindset as you go about your business? Are you concerned about racing’s future?

RM: Safety is always the primary concern ... that’s another thing my dad always taught me: safety with the animals and safety with your staff. Anything he could do to limit risk and injury was very important to him.

With the problems (racing) has had in Kentucky with the injured horses, etc., that obviously also happened just a few years ago in California [at Santa Anita Park in 2019]. The racing in that state looked like they were in major trouble and then they made drastic changes. Looking back now, I was never really concerned about the future of racing when that was going on in California. I was like, ‘Okay, they are going to fix it, and we’re going to get past it, and it all will be fine.’

But what has happened most recently; this is the first time I’ve ever been really nervous about the future. I would be silly not to be concerned about it. I’m a young guy and I’m just starting. I, hopefully, have many years ahead of me. I’ve got a family to feed and I’m not really good at much else besides working with horses.

So, yeah, I’m concerned. But, obviously, I can only really do what’s in my power to make the racing a better product going forward. All these horses are under my care. I need to take care of those horses and make sure they are fit to train. If they are not, do something different and take care of them. I’m focused on my horses and their safety and protecting my clients because they are heavily invested in these horses. I hope other people feel the same way and take care of their responsibilities.

There are many people who are working very hard to make racing safer and make what we have a more palatable product.

BH: With the recent implementation of rules from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority in force, how does it impact a young horseman, such as yourself, who is just starting out?

RM: Truthfully, it doesn’t impact me that much, day to day. That’s just my opinion. We have to change up the timing on pre-race medications which doesn’t affect or bother me too much. There’s more scrutiny from state and attending veterinarians, but I’m not against that, whatsoever. We go over our horses with a fine-tooth comb on a daily basis and really monitor how they are moving and feeling. I’m lucky that I’ve been in the game for most of my life, but I think it’s easier for me, a young person, to adapt to the new changes.