Riley Mott prepares first Kentucky Derby runners with Hall of Fame guidance

Riley Mott is poised to arrive on racing’s biggest stage with two live Kentucky Derby starters, a breakthrough that turns a familiar surname into a fresh storyline. Incredibolt, the Virginia Derby winner for Pin Oak Stud, and Albus, who punched his ticket with a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade II Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 4, have given the younger Mott a chance to saddle his first Derby runners in the 152nd running at Churchill Downs.

The race is set for Saturday, May 2, 2026, with post time approximately 6:57 p.m. ET and a field limited to 20 horses. For Riley Mott, that backdrop matters as much as the names in the barn. The son of Hall of Famer Bill Mott has spent his early training career building toward this moment, and the possible presence of both Incredibolt and Albus in the gate would instantly elevate his profile on a day when every decision is magnified.

Mott has leaned heavily on a decade working as an assistant for Bill Mott, an apprenticeship he has described as valuable because it exposed him to both good horses and bad horses. That experience has shaped the way Riley handles the highs and lows of a trainer’s life, especially now that Derby pressure is on his doorstep. Bill Mott’s message has been simple: do not let success or failure change you. That lesson carries extra weight in a family where the older Mott already owns two Kentucky Derby victories, with Country House in 2019 and Sovereignty in 2025.

The younger Mott’s own rise has been swift. He launched his stable in 2022 and earned his first career win with Unifying, his third starter, at Churchill Downs on Nov. 10, 2022. By October 2025, his barn had grown to about 60 horses, with 97 wins and more than $7 million in purse earnings. That kind of growth has made his Derby presence feel earned, not accidental, even if the family name still invites comparison.

Bill Mott’s 2019 Derby triumph came after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference, a dramatic finish that gave the veteran trainer his first Kentucky Derby win at Churchill Downs. Riley now stands on the edge of a different kind of milestone, one that could put father and son into the same Derby conversation in a way the sport rarely sees. Born Dec. 26, 1991, in Hollywood, Florida, and now living in Louisville with his wife Megan and children William and Tucker, Riley Mott has built his career close to the track where the next chapter may unfold. If both Incredibolt and Albus make the field, the family name will be present again. This time, though, it will be Riley’s stable telling its own story.