Mott makes rare claim

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There were four horses claimed for $20,000 out of Thursday’s seventh race at Saratoga, and some of the usual names were the ones who put in claims.

Lolita Shivmangal. Orlando Noda. Roshan Samsundar. Bill Mott.

Bill Mott? The Hall of Fame trainer?

Yes, that Bill Mott – and he won a nine-way shake to get Red State, who finished second in the race, for $20,000. It was Mott’s first claim in four years, and his first Saratoga claim in eight years.

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Mott explained that one of his owners, Paul Woosley, who has many of his horses based at Ohio tracks, was interested in claiming one in Saratoga. For Woosley, Mott currently trains the 4-year-old gelding Capital Idea, whom he bought for $40,000 and who has made $360,817.

“He picked it out,” Mott said of Red State. “I said, ‘If I don’t like him, I won’t drop on him.’ He said, ‘Perfect.’ He’s actually a nice, big horse.”

Since there were three other horses in the race that were being claimed, Mott said it was pretty crowded in the racing office and his presence raised eyebrows.

“They went nuts when they saw me go to the claim box and drop” the slip, Mott said. “When the pill came out and they said, ‘Bill Mott,’ all those guys went crazy. I should have hollered, ‘I’m back.’ ”

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