LOUISVILLE – Horse trainer Bill Mott looked like he was gliding on air as he made his way into the infield at Churchill Downs early Saturday evening. Just moments before, his horse Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby.
He displayed a beaming smile while working through the crowd of well-wishers to get to the winner’s circle with jockey Junior Alvarado, Godolphin LLC racing manager Michael Banahan and others connected to the winner of the 151st Run for the Roses.
Godolphin, a global racing giant, celebrated its first Derby win after 26 years of trying. It was the first win for Alvarado in the Derby or any Triple Crown race, and it was the second for Mott. However, he had good reason to treat this like his first.
Six years ago, the Kentucky Derby was in limbo for 22 minutes while stewards reviewed the race. Mott’s Country House finished second to Maximum Security, but he would be named the winner after Maximum Security was deemed to have interfered with other horses. The 2019 decision ranks as one of the most controversial outcomes in the century-and-a-half history of America’s biggest horse race.
That night, Mott called the outcome “bittersweet.” This time around, there was nothing bitter about it.
“This is better,” he told reporters Saturday. “I said afterwards I want to finish first, cross the line first.”