Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Riley Mott has a pair of 3-year-olds on target for the 2026 Kentucky Derby in Wood Memorial Stakes winner Albus and Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt. They will be Riley Mott’s first starters in the run for the roses, but he has plenty of experience with the first jewel of the Triple Crown.
The son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Riley Mott grew up in his father’s barn and developed a love of the Thoroughbred at a young age. He honed his horsemanship under his father’s tutelage and served as an assistant to his dad when Bill won the 2019 Kentucky Derby with Country House. The elder Mott added a second Kentucky Derby to his resume in 2025 with Sovereignty and will compete against Riley in the 2026 Kentucky Derby with Florida Derby third-place finisher Chief Wallabee.
Riley Mott explained his measured path of progression as a horseman starting with cleaning up around the barn to walking the stable pony to learning hands-on care for a racehorse. After serving as an assistant for his father for roughly nine years, Riley went out on his own in November 2022 with the all tools to succeed and now finds himself at Churchill Downs less than four years later looking for a Kentucky Derby win of his own.
