A gentleman named Jay Bernardini ranked 26th among North American trainers with 108 wins during 2025. Sitting 27th, with 106 winners, came Bill Mott. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Mott won 13 graded races during the year. The top three in the land took down 35, 28, and 26. The statistical case simply doesn’t exist for Mott to be an Eclipse Award finalist. It hasn’t for decades and never will again. But we all know, at least in our hearts, that the numbers only carry so much weight, that piling up wins has everything to do with opportunity and approach. This is no lifetime achievement award, but Mott is widely regarded as the greatest horseman of his generation. You can’t just pretend not to know that. Mott also trains a horse called Sovereignty, strong favorite to be named Horse of the Year, possibly one of the best racehorses we have seen in . . . a long time. :: Full list of 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories Bill Mott, 72, has trained horses for . . . a long time. Since age 15. He has trained all sorts of them, down-on-their-luck claimers in Nebraska, steeds like the legendary champion Cigar. Months before Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, and the DraftKings Travers Stakes, probably even before his first race, something about a colt far from precocious lodged in Mott’s brain. It’s probably not outlandish suggesting that in some way, Mott pointed Sovereignty toward the Derby – a race Mott had only won once, that via disqualification – before the colt had won any kind of race. Sovereignty, remember, lost his Derby prep, beaten in the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa. Mott’s plan wasn’t to lose, but that race was only part of a grander plan. Same goes for the controversial decision Mott and owner Godolphin made to skip the Preakness. Mott, by the way, sent Scylla out to an upset win in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Sovereignty returns to race in 2026. So does Bill Mott. We’re lucky to have both of them. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.