'Very Meaningful': Riley Mott Savoring First Grade 1 Win
During his childhood, trainer Riley Mott would dream about a day when he would follow in his Hall of Fame father Bill Mott's footsteps and lead his own horse into the winner's circle for a graded stakes. That dream came to fruition on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course when World Beater took the Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1) over a field that included Capitol Hill, a trainee for his father.
'That doesn't happen often,' Mott said of finishing ahead of his father, with a laugh. 'It was great. He was happy, and it was a good day. A lot of my family was there, so it was very meaningful.'
Pin Oak Stud's World Beater improved from a runner-up finish to Test Score in the Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) on July 4 at Saratoga, and found the winner's circle with a smart trip engineered by Junior Alvarado, who picked up the mount from Jaime Torres, whose flight was delayed. The son of Oscar Performance was 10 lengths off the pace in fifth through the half-mile in 47.67 seconds before angling off the rail and in between foes to set his sights on the pacesetting Juwelier with Test Score looming large down the center of the course.
World Beater found his best stride in the lane and got the jump on Test Score to pounce on the stubborn pacesetter inside the final eighth and power away to the half-length score in a final time of 1:52.82 over firm going.
Mott gave credit to Alvarado, who is also the regular pilot of the Bill Mott-trained dual classic winner Sovereignty.
'Junior made all the right moves, which he's been doing a lot recently,' Mott said as he scouted the next generation of runners at the Fasig-Tipton yearling sales grounds in Saratoga. 'The horse came back really well, clean-legged, jogging sound with good energy. He ships back this afternoon to Keeneland.'
As for a next start for World Beater, Mott said there are several races being considered, with the next New York option the Jockey Club Derby (G2) in September at Belmont at the Big A.
'It's to be determined. We'll watch him for a week or two and make sure he's healthy and doing well,' Mott said. 'There's some lucrative 3-year-old turf races going into the fall and I would say everything is an option.
'I always thought he was a horse that would improve with time,' Mott added. 'It took us a couple starts to run him on turf, but I think we all kind of thought he'd wind up on the turf. It's been really nice to see his progression over the course of this year.'
World Beater's Saratoga Derby victory came within an hour of the FanDuel Fourstardave (G1), which was won by the Miguel Clement-trained Deterministic. Miguel Clement is the son of the late trainer Christophe Clement, who shared a barn with Bill Mott at Saratoga where Miguel now occupies the same stalls. The veteran conditioners also spent decades training in close proximity to each other in both New York and Florida.
Riley and Miguel grew up together at the racetrack, and both shared the dream of carving out their own careers as trainers. Mott reflected on the two friends earning top-level victories on the same afternoon at Saratoga.
'It's what he and I have dreamt about since we were literally in diapers together,' Mott said, with a laugh. 'We used to run around in our backyard pretending I was Cigar and he was Flag Down. It was something we always really dreamt about, so it was pretty cool.'
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Do the Knicks need to make NBA Finals and other New York fan survey results
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As we sit here in August, the only team that appears to be on the same level as the Knicks in the East is the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, after an Eastern Conference-leading 64 wins last season, fell short in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland did dominate New York during the regular season last year, and maybe that is where some of the cautiousness comes from for Knicks fans. The Cavaliers have more continuity than the Knicks, and I could see that leading to a better regular-season record if New York takes a bit to find its footing under a new head coach. That said, one of the Cavaliers or Knicks will be the No. 1 seed in the East (barring injuries of course). We'll see how these two teams match up against one another relatively soon, as they open the season against one another and then play again on Christmas. Advertisement Of all the questions on this survey, this result was the one I was most curious about. When talking to fans in-person and online, there seems to be a healthy split when it comes to this question. The results somewhat show the same thing. Ultimately, I think fans grew tired of Thibodeau's reliance upon his starters, his lack of experimentation until the Knicks were deep in the playoffs and, well, after five years, people just like change. Do I think Thibodeau deserved to be fired? I don't. I thought he deserved one more year after all he's done to help turn New York back into a respectable organization on the court. Do I understand why he got fired? I do. The decision to fire Thibodeau could be one that either makes the decision-makers look like geniuses or, potentially, sets the franchise back a bit. We'll find out soon enough. This is somewhat how I thought the result of this question would shake out. Brown has had a long coaching career that has been met with both highs and lows. 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It makes sense. Brown and Co. get two years to figure it out from the viewpoint of the fans. That seems reasonable. Of all the questions on this survey, this was the one result I was most sure of. Brunson, yet again, was one of the best 10 players in the NBA. He was the most clutch player in basketball. He had ridiculously good playoff performances. Brunson is the best player on the team and has, maybe more than anyone, been critical to the Knicks' on-court resurgence in recent years. The fans love Brunson. Brunson loves the fans. This is a perfect marriage. Maybe Brunson never brings a title to New York. There are too many factors that impact that result outside of Brunson's control. And even if he never does, Brunson has proven that, year after year, he is one of the best players in the game. The case could be made that a team with two limited defenders playing major minutes can't win a title. That's understandable. 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Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune notes Williams had one bad pitch to D'Andre Swift, but otherwise it was a very clean day for No. 18. Hopefully that carries over the rest of the week. WR Rome Odunze: One of the main reasons Williams was dialed in on Wednesday was because of Odunze. The second-year receiver was all over the field, according to those in attendance. CHSN's Alex Shapiro said Odunze's best catch of the day came on a touchdown reception near the front right pylon with good coverage. Odunze and Williams were in sync for much of the day, connecting multiple times on a variety of passing plays, which bodes well for what the two can do when the regular season gets underway. DE Dayo Odeyingbo: The offensive line was doing their own version of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" on Wednesday, with more players being added to the left tackle competition. That didn't matter for defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who made his presence known against veteran Braxton Jones on multiple occasions. According to Marquee Sports' Nicholas Moreano, Odeyingbo got the best of Jones, particularly on one rep when he put the tackle on the ground during 1-on-1 drills. With so much attention centered on Austin Booker after this last weekend, don't forget about Odeyingbo, who is being counted on to play a major role on the defensive line this season. Injury updates On the injury front, cornerbacks Terell Smith and Nick McCloud were at practice. Rookie offensive lineman Luke Newman also wasn't present after suffering a concussion in Sunday's preseason tie against the Miami Dolphins. While there appeared to be an injury scare early in practice with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., he was on the field and participating in this padded practice featuring live tackling. Nicholas Moreano noted Dexter was getting his elbow examined, and he had his left arm heavily wrapped as he rejoined the defensive line. Highlights Press conferences What's next The Bears are back at Halas Hall for their 17th training camp practice on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. CT. It will be open to fans. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears training camp: Recapping Day 16
