Mott becomes seventh trainer to win 5,000 races

Bill Mott reached a major milestone Saturday when Moon Over Miami became the 5,000th winner of his Hall of Fame training career when he captured the third race at Churchill Downs.

Mott, who was at Belmont Park to saddle Modernist later in the afternoon for the Belmont Stakes, was represented as usual at Churchill by his longtime assistant Kenny McCarthy.

“When you look at the record book and look at the numbers, it’s a great personal accomplishment but one that’s shared with a lot of people, a lot of staff and a lot of owners,” Mott said from Belmont Park on Saturday. “My name’s down there, but there’s been a lot of people involved in the whole thing. If it didn’t happen at Belmont, I’m really glad it happened at Churchill. I kind of cut my teeth there and had so many people that have been so good to me, and Churchill Downs has been so good to me.”

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Mott, 66, became just the seventh trainer in North American racing history to reach the 5,000-win plateau. In order, those ahead of him are Dale Baird (9,445), Steve Asmussen, Jerry Hollendorfer, Jack Van Berg, King Leatherbury, and Scott Lake.

“It’s a milestone and I’m proud to be in the club that did it,” Mott said in a recent Daily Racing Form feature. “All those guys, every one of them has been important to our business, that’s for sure. They’re all recognizable names.”

Mott has been among the most successful and respected horsemen for decades. He is a three-time Eclipse Award winner, and in 1998, at the age of 45, he became the youngest trainer inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Mott’s first winner officially came in 1973, although he recalls winning races before that at small tracks in his native South Dakota. His top horse was Cigar, who from the fall of 1994 through the summer of 1996 won 16 consecutive races. In 1995, Cigar capped off a perfect 10-for-10 campaign with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Before Cigar, stakes horses such as Heatherten, Taylor’s Special, and Mrs. Revere were among those who got Mott going. He won the Kentucky Derby for the first time last year when Country House was awarded victory on the disqualification of Maximum Security, and he has won 10 Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2011 Classic with Drosselmeyer.

Since June 12, when Chewing Gum won an allowance at Belmont for Mott, his next 14 starters had been defeated.

“We’re so thrilled to achieve this milestone,” said McCarthy, who has worked under Mott for 25 years. “I know Bill is watching from New York but we are so happy, and a little relieved, to get this honor.”

Moon Over Miami, a 3-year-old colt by Malibu Moon, raced in mid-pack under Joe Talamo in the first-level turf allowance before surging to the front with about 40 yards to go. He paid $12.80 after finishing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.12.

– additional reporting by David Grening