Reigning Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bill Mott, who went from the South Dakota fair tracks to the pinnacle of horse racing, was been named the recipient of the 2025 Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award presented by the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners.
Mott will be feted Saturday, Nov. 22, at the KTO’s annual awards dinner at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
“For me, the biggest honor you can have is to be recognized by your peers as someone who does a good job,” said Mott, who won his second Kentucky Derby this year with Godolphin’s Sovereignty. “That’s the best compliment you can ever get. To be called horseman of the year? What’s better than that?”
Throughout his career, Mott has been known as a meticulous and hands-on horseman. A nine-time meet leader, he was Churchill Downs’s all-time win leader from June 1986, when his 272nd victory passed Henry Forrest, until the fall of 2017, when Mott’s 702 career victories under the Twin Spires were in turn surpassed by Dale Romans. Romans subsequently was topped by Steve Asmussen in 2020 at 738.
At Keeneland, Mott and Rusty Arnold are tied for the all-time lead at 307 through the spring meet, with Mott ranking No. 2 in stakes victories, 72-52 behind Todd Pletcher. He has six Keeneland training crowns.
The Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners is an educational and social organization dedicated to the betterment of racing in the state. Membership is open not only to owners but anyone interested in the sport, including prospective owners.
The Warner Jones Award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the iconic track’s initial resurgence. Jones was the inaugural award winner in 1988, six years before his death.
