Bill Mott

Maybe a touch earlier than expected, the rematch that the horse racing world pined for has arrived as reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) will once again square off against the 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap on Saturday. Both colts will be making their much-anticipated 4-year-old debuts in Hot Springs. Sovereignty turned in a spectacular season last year when he won the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DK Travers Stakes. The Bill Mott trainee came down with a...

Edited Press Release Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) got his first feel of the Oaklawn racing surface Wednesday morning, galloping a mile in advance of his 2026 debut in Saturday's $1.2-million GII Oaklawn Handicap. Escorted to the track by his Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, Sovereignty visited the indoor paddock and galloped after the first surface renovation break. "Easy day," Mott said. "He was ready to do something. He was happy that he was able to do something." The Oaklawn Handicap will mark the 4-year-old debut...

The 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) will ship to Hot Springs for the Apr. 18 running of the GII Oaklawn Handicap where the colt could face reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief), according to a Friday post on X by co-owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. The tweet read, "JOURNALISM turned in a strong 5-panel move at Santa Anita Park in 1:00 3/5 this a.m. and has been declared all set by Michael McCarthy to make his seasonal debut in next Saturday's GII $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap with...

It was a fantastic week for fast maidens--the top five all registered 92+ on the Beyer scale. 5) OUT OF THE WOODS, OP, 4/3-7th, 1 1/16m VIDEO Beyer Speed Figure-92 (g, 3, Constitution--Sensitive, by Divine Park) O-Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables, Panic Stable and William Strauss. B-Daniel Burke and Kathleen Burke Schweizer (Ky). T-Phil D'Amato. J-Ramon Vazquez. After repeatedly running into Baffert buzzsaws, Out of the Woods was sent to Oaklawn for higher purses and softer maidens. His recent sharp breezes indicated the change might be positive, and he...

Triple Crown-nominated Gilded Bandit (Charlatan) out-dueled fellow second-time starter Deep Flame (Into Mischief) to a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'-worthy win at Keeneland Saturday for Pin Oak Stud and trainer Bill Mott. Racing with the blinkers added off a 'better than it looked' fourth-place run at Gulfstream Feb. 28 (highlighted here by the TDN's Steve Sherack in his 'Second Chances' series), the 3-1 shot had to sit towards the back of the field while main rival, 6-5 favorite Deep Flame was up on a battle for the lead through...

5th-AQU, 80K, Msw, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 3:16 p.m. Breaking from the rail, Juddmonte homebred SILVER TALENT (Constitution) is a son of MGISW Paulassilverlining and a half-brother to SW/MGSP and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Artorius (Arrogate). Paulassilverlining, who banked north of $1.5-million on the track, is herself a half to another MGISW in Dads Cap (Discreet Cat). He's one of two Chad Brown entries, the other being... Cold Draft Beer (Omaha Beach), a half-brother to Eclipse-winning sprinter Straight No Chaser (Speightster) as well as SW T Kraft (Connect) and...

2nd-GP, 84K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 11:59 a.m. Juddmonte homebred SILENT IMPACT (Gun Runner), a half-brother to MGISW Emollient (Empire Maker), makes his debut in Florida Saturday for trainer Bill Mott. Juddmonte acquired the dam, Soothing Touch, as a Keeneland September yearling for $500,000 in 2005. In addition to Emollient, who became a multiple graded stakes-producing mare herself, Soothing Touch is responsible for SW/MGISP Hofburg (Tapit) and SW/GSP Courtier (Pioneerof the Nile). Notably, her daughter Calm Water (Empire Maker) is the dam of G1 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup victor Laurel...

Seven GI Kentucky Derby winners in the last 20 years--including last year's winner and Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief)--have used the GI Curlin Florida Derby as a launching pad to success on the first Saturday in May. Could we see another one emerge from Saturday's loaded renewal at Gulfstream Park? Chief Wallabee (Constitution) will look to punch his ticket to the big dance following a too-good-to-lose second to Commandment (Into Mischief) in a heart-stopping renewal of the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Feb. 28....

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has come a long way in the 3 1/2 years he has been training on his own. He's already won more than 100 races and collected a pair of Grade I wins, including World Beater (Oscar Performance)'s score in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. And now it looks like he'll have a starter in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. In winning the Virginia Derby, the Mott-trained Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) earned enough points to guarantee himself a spot in...

Paladin (Gun Runner), most recently winner of the GII Risen Star Stakes, and GII Fountain of Youth Stakes runner-up Chief Wallabee (Constitution) were 8-1 co-favorites when the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 closed Sunday evening. The Chad Brown-trained Paladin, who runs next in the Apr. 4 GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, had $25,772 in Win bets, while the Bill Mott-trained Chief Wallabee, scheduled to make his next start in the Feb. 28 GI Curlin Florida Derby, handled $24,790--a difference of just $982. Next in the wagering was...

STAR ACTRESS (f, 3, Justify--Star Act {SP, $147,605}, by Street Cry {Ire}) was unveiled Feb. 8 at this venue trying a seven-furlong maiden race on the main track, and despite a wide trip, closed ferociously late to claim second by a half-length. Back here as the 3-5 favorite with added real estate to work with, Star Actress went one better while stalking the pace from much closer. Improving her position down the backstretch  to come even with the pacesetter and another challenger by the half-mile marker, she was vying for...

4th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 2:19 p.m. ET. Star Actress (Justify), a full-sister to champion 2-year-old filly and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Just F Y I, stretches to two turns for her second career start for Bill Mott. The George Krikorian homebred rallied from seventh to finish a close second on debut going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Feb. 8. She earned a 73 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The aforementioned Just F Y I brought $4.5 million from Katsumi Yoshida at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton November...