Saratoga Q & A: Bill Mott

[Wandering Eyes]

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott says he is not all that interesting.

We disagree.

Mott, who got his first winner when he was still in high school, has never stopped. Through the years, he has had a barn full of high-caliber horses. He talks about some of them; he talks about Sovereignty, who is the best 3-year-old in the country. He talks about training for the late George Steinbrenner. And he remembers a dumb question from a reporter (me). Here is the Saratoga Q&A.

TDN: First question. Why is it so hard to get you to do a Q&A?

Bill Mott: I don't like to talk about myself.

TDN: Stop it. I don't believe that.

BM: Yeah, I don't.

TDN: But these are fun things. We can knock this out in 15 minutes.

BM: We're doing it. I thought that was the first question.

TDN: I have others.

BM: OK. What is the next question?

TDN: Your logo for the barn, on your saddlecloths. Why is it the diamond?

BM:  I went to the work for Bert and Diana Firestone in the fall of 1986. My first year in New York was 1987 and I had a private job with them. That was their logo. They sort of drifted away from the business, and I didn't have the private job anymore, and I asked them if I could just use the logo. I kept some of the equipment, and I asked them if it would be okay, if I could continue on with their logo.

TDN: It's an iconic logo in horse racing.

BM: Iconic meaning sort of everybody recognizes it?

Sarah Andrew photo

TDN: Yes. Absolutely.

BM: It started with the Firestones … Genuine Risk. That was on their silks.

TDN: You have had big horses your whole career. Where does this guy (pointing to the stall of Kentucky Derby/Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty) rank?

BM: Best 3-year-old I've ever had. Without question.

TDN: What's it like when you see people coming out to the barn every day wanting to get a glimpse of him?

BM: It's interesting. I had it with Cigar (1995 & 1996 Horse of the Year). We haven't had it since Cigar to this extent where people would come by just to see him.

TDN: Is there pressure when you have a horse like that?

BM: Sure. There's pressure not to do something foolish. Don't make a dumb mistake. Don't let the media train your horse for you. There are always questions: why'd he do this? Why'd he do that? Why'd he skip the Preakness? We could have had another Triple Crown.' Just do what you do. I think that some of that comes with time, with experience. You are still always on edge, making sure to keep them safe, keep them out of trouble.

TDN: Cigar was a phenomenal racehorse. Is he your all-time best?

BM: It would be very difficult to dispute that. I had some very talented horses, but, as you well know, it's hard to compare generation to generation or race to race. To have them put that many races together (Cigar won 16 races consecutive races) is pretty, pretty amazing. I've had some horses that ran off, whether it would be Ron the Greek who won by open (6 3/4) lengths in the (2013) Jockey Club Gold Cup. They would not come back and run the same race the next time. Flat Out. Taylor's Special. Rapid Gray.

TDN: The list goes on and on.

BM: I haven't counted lately, but the last time I did I think we've had over 150 Grade I wins. I don't know how many we have now.

TDN: Talking about talented racehorses you have had, was Cody's Wish the most special horse you ever had because of the story?

BM: No. He was certainly one of them and a memorable horse. But I've had some very nice horses for some good owners, and I would not want to try to pick them apart and say one was more special than the other. At the time we had them, they were all very meaningful and special. When their careers are over, we've got to try to move on, and you're looking for the next one.

TDN: The first winner you ever had, you were still in high school in South Dakota, correct?

BM: The first horse I ever trained, I was too young to get a trainer's license, so my father was down as the trainer. I got my first trainer's license when I was 16. And I had my first winner.

TDN: Remember the name of the horse?

BM: I had a filly called My Assets. Then I had Kosmic Tour. I owned him myself when I was 15 and he won the South Dakota Futurity for me. Got $3,200 to the winner.

TDN: When you were in high school, you wrestled and played football.

BM: Played football and then wrestled.

TDN: Were you good?

BM: I was very competitive on the circuit we were on.

TDN: Which means…

BM: We were a 'B' school. Mobridge, South Dakota was not an 'A' school. We were not Minneapolis or Oklahoma City.

TDN: I bet you were tough.

BM: I did ok. My best finish (in wrestling) was fourth in the state when I was a senior.

TDN: What position did you play in football?

BM: I was a halfback. We had a very good football team. Mind you, we were a 'B' school, but we did very well. We did very well in wrestling, we did very well in football. The other halfback was very good. He was all-state on offense and defense and got a scholarship to a very good 'B' college which was, I think, North Dakota State in Fargo. There was only one game where I had more yards than him.

TDN: How many?

BM: It was over 120 yards rushing.

TDN: Did you have a nickname in high school?

BM: Ah, no. I don't really think so.

TDN: I ask this question to everyone, and I get some interesting answers. If there's a movie made about your life and you can pick the actor to play you, who are you picking?

BM: (laughs). Who's the guy that played in “The Silence of the Lambs?”

TDN: Anthony Hopkins. Hannibal Lecter. That's not bad. He's a great actor. He could pull off Bill Mott.

BM: I love Jack Nicholson, too. But he's a little crazy. He might be crazier than me.

TDN: You calling yourself crazy now?

BM: (laughs).

TDN: Do you have any interests outside of horse racing? I know you're a Yankee fan.

BM: I am. I worked for the Steinbrenner family, so I do pay attention to that. If there's a Yankee game on, I enjoy watching it. We've been to a bunch of the playoff games.

TDN: You are a sports fan.

BM: Oh, I love sports. I don't have a lot of time to sit and watch it because we're busy on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and that's when a lot of the sporting events go on. I'm too tired to watch a lot of them (smiles).

TDN: Do you still have goals?

BM: My goal in horse racing is I strive to stay in the top 10 every year. I figure if I am in the top 10, I am in the game. If I can stay in the top 10 money won every year, I figure I'm still competitive.

TDN: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?

BM: John Wayne. My father. And Clint Eastwood.

TDN: Is Saratoga your favorite racetrack?

BM: I would say so. When I was based at Churchill, I loved Churchill and I still love Churchill. Now, I spend more time here and we have had a lot of success here. I love Saratoga. I think it's great. The whole scene is great. It's not just for Wednesday and Thurby (Thursday at Churchill during Derby week), and Oaks Day and Derby and maybe two other days. You get a good month, six weeks of racing here. The people that come up here … the atmosphere … this is the greatest. A lot of people love Del Mar but I would have to say this is the top on my list. And I have a special affection for Churchill Downs as well.

TDN: Is there one race that sticks out that you've won that stands out more than any other?

BM: When Cigar won the (1995) Breeders' Cup (Classic). You ask me that question, that comes to my mind.

Mott with the legendary Cigar in 1996 | Horsephotos

TDN: That's the one with the famous Tom Durkin call: “the unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!”

BM: Yes. And it culminated a 10-for-10 season. Champion older horse. Horse of the Year. And he went on after that and had a pretty good year after that.

TDN: In your travels, you must have met some pretty famous people.

BM: Unbelievable. Going to California … John Forsythe, Burt Bacharach … Bo Derek! (laughs). There's been just a multitude of really, really famous people. Not only famous people, but very successful people and very knowledgeable, smart, good people. The more famous people are, of course, actors.

TDN: You met George Steinbrenner. Was he fun?

BM: I enjoyed him. I was fascinated by him because he had a reputation of being tough and he was. But he also had a side of him that was very compassionate, very generous, and he had a side of him that was very tough and very tight. He had a lot of different qualities. I don't know if you would refer to him as a complicated person, but a very diverse person, I suppose.

TDN: Was he a tough guy to train for?

BM: He was demanding. He expected success.

TDN: And if he didn't get it …

BM: He might fire you. He never fired me but there was a time when he didn't funnel some horses to me. He might have skipped a year, but he never fired me.

Mott trained Majestic Warrior (pic) and his dam Dream Supreme for George Steinbrenner's Kinsman Stable | Coolmore photo

TDN: Is Bill Mott happy right now with everything going on in his life?

BM: Sure. I've got no complaints. We've had personal disappointments in our lives, my family has, but I think we've been able to overcome it because of the strength of our family and the closeness of the family. Business wise, we are disappointed 75% of the time when we run horses (laughs). And horses get hurt, they have to go home. They don't turn out as well as we expected or hoped them to. But that is what we do. That is reality.

TDN: Coming to work now, you have a barn–and you have had this for several years–with some real nice racehorses in it.

BM: I have been lucky enough to have that almost every year. There were a couple years–and I can't remember exactly what years–that we went without a Grade I winner. Maybe two or three years. You start thinking about that and that's a little tough to swallow. You are still working as hard as you ever had but you don't get the right horse and you don't win the right races.

TDN: And you are a competitive guy.

BM: That's why horse racing suits me. Because I love horses. I enjoy horses. I enjoy the challenge of working with them. Sometimes it can be a difficult or challenging horse, and you can see how well you can do with them. I'm also competitive. I like to win. I don't like getting beat. But I accept defeat. I get beat every day. This is the one business, the one sport, where you lose more than you win. Most sports, people are able to say we win more than we lose.

TDN: I have asked other trainers about this. This is the only sport I know where 10 seconds after the event–or race in this case–is over, you have microphones and tape recorders in your face. There is no cooling off period. How do you deal with that? After a tough beat, it has to be difficult.

BM: You just try to keep your cool and not be too emotional about it. And you go back to the drawing board and try to evaluate what happened. What can I do better? You are probably speaking about the better races, the better horses. There are a lot of horses we run that were not born with the ability that others have. If you get a slow horse, you just get a slow horse. If you have a good horse that gets beat–and I think that's what you're talking about–you just try to analyze and figure it out and see if we can do better. You just try to figure out what happened. We don't try to change everything around.

TDN: Do you think you're a funny guy?

BM: No. Not really. Not very often. I think of myself as having very little personality.

TDN: I think you have a dry sense of humor.

BM: Well, I do. I think I do have a dry sense of humor, but I have to be careful because some people don't understand it.

TDN: When you are in the right mood, I think you are very funny.

BM: (laughs). Not at all. Growing up, going through high school, there were times when I wanted to be funny because I knew some people who were funny and I wanted to emulate their character, maybe. They could make people laugh and I wanted to make people laugh, but sometimes I pissed people off. I made some people mad so I had to make adjustments. I had to be careful with who I was trying to be funny with.

TDN: Over the years, I have heard some people in my profession say they're intimidated by you. Ever hear that?

BM: I have had some people say that. Maybe because I don't have much to say.

TDN: You have always been accommodating to me. I may have asked some dumb questions in my time. And you may have called me out on that.

BM: Just once.

TDN: What was the dumb question I asked you?

BM: There was a horse that I think was a favorite in a big race and ran poorly and I can't even remember what horse it was. It was one of those times when you walk off the track and you are like “#$%^$#.” I stopped and you all were asking me questions and you said, 'how does that make you feel?' And I looked at you and said, 'how the (blank) do you think that made me feel?'  It was one of those situations where I felt like (crap).

TDN: If you were not a horse trainer, what do you think you would be doing?

BM: I would probably be in South Dakota maybe having a cattle ranch.

TDN: You would have something to do with animals.

BM: Yes. Absolutely. I loved animals. My father was a veterinarian. He loved horses and he is the one that got me in horse racing. He is the one that made the connection for me with the Asmussens. My first job was with the family of Keith Asmussen and so that is what got me started when I was 14 years old.

TDN: Would you call yourself a cowboy?

BM: I'm not a cowboy now. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cowboy. I can't say I ever developed into a very good cowboy. I can ride. A cowboy is somebody who actually manages cattle and that sort of thing.

TDN: Did you watch Roy Rogers growing up as a kid?

BM: Oh, I did.

TDN: Who was your favorite cowboy growing up?

BM: Television cowboy? I suppose a guy like John Wayne. He was a cowboy in some of his movies.

TDN: Your pony's name is Rocky.

BM: I renamed him. His name was Looking at Bikinis. I wanted something a little tougher than Looking at Bikinis.

TDN: He ran in the Travers.

BM: Yes, he did (in 2019, finished 11th).

Looking At Bikinis, aka Rocky | Sarah Andrew

TDN: Everything is good at the Bill Mott ranch right now.

BM: I would say so. I really have nothing to be bitter about. When you get a lot of miles on the speedometer, I think it's easy to get a little sour or a little bitter, but I don't want to do that. Rather than be bitter about something, try to do something about it, I suppose. I am not here to change the game. That is above my paygrade. I do what I do. I love coming out here and dealing with these guys and dealing with the horses and I really enjoy seeing my owners. I get along well with most of them. I train with some interesting people. People I would never be able to be around if I didn't train horses. That has been the case all my life whether it was Bert and Diana Firestone, Alan Paulson, George Steinbrenner…there have been a multitude of people I have been associated with and have at least a working relationship with many of them.

TDN: Last question. I have been chasing you around for a month, trying to get you to sit down for this and I am paraphrasing here, you said you were like a rabbit, and you can't catch me. I finally caught you.

BM: Yes. You did. (laughs).

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