Trainer Riley Mott is making his second-ever trip to Laurel Park to saddle Incredibolt in Saturday’s $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1). The last time he was here was “years ago” when he was working for his father, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
The 34-year-old Riley Mott arrived in Maryland Thursday afternoon and was at the Preakness Stakes Barn Friday morning, and watched Incredibolt and exercise rider Charlotte O’Connell gallop about 1 ¼ miles.
“Charlotte said he was feeling himself this morning,” Mott said. “He feels good, and he looks good. We galloped around to the starting gate and stood and backed out, and he finished his gallop up by the quarter pole.”
Mott made a last-minute decision Monday to enter Incredibolt in the Preakness. While eating lunch – he said he was having an Uncrustable – he got the idea that running his horse in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown wasn’t such a far-fetched idea.
Incredibolt, owned by Pin Oak Stud LLC, ran a good sixth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and was doing well. He called his father to get his thoughts.
“First person I called,” Riley Mott said. “While I was eating lunch, I called and said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘If he’s doing good, put him in. When do they enter?’ I said I didn’t know. I called up the racing office and was like ‘Hey, when do you enter?’ They said, ‘We close in about an hour.’ That’s a true story. I am not embarrassed to say that. That is how not on the radar this race was.”
Now, here he is. And he is one of three horses with 5-1 odds on the morning line. He will be ridden by Jaime Torres, who has been on board in all six of his prior starts.
“On paper, it looks like there is plenty of speed,” Riley Mott said of the Preakness. “I could see him potentially in the second or third flights, and hoping he gets into a good rhythm no matter where he’s at. And then get a clear run at it from the three-eighths pole.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
