On the Rise: Sofia Thompson

Sofia Thompson knew little to nothing about the racing industry until a summer job several years ago, working as a hotwalker in the barn of Hall of Famer Bill Mott, changed the course of her life.

The 23-year-old is now an assistant trainer to Mott's son, Riley, who went out on his own in November 2022. Thompson, a native of Waterford, Va., where horse sports are popular, was the younger Mott's first employee. Riley Mott's career has seen a strong start and he will be represented by his first Kentucky Derby (G1) runners this year: Albus , the winner of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2), and Incredibolt , winner of last year's Street Sense Stakes (G3) and this year's Virginia Derby.

Thompson has worked with both colts since they arrived in the barn last year as 2-year-olds.

Her answers have been edited for space and clarity.

BloodHorse: Did you have experience around horses before becoming a hotwalker?

Sofia Thompson: When I was 4 years old, I started riding horses. My cousin had been taking lessons, and I went and watched her, and I begged my parents to let me ride horses. I started taking lessons, and then I started doing some of the show horse stuff, and that just continued to grow. I did different disciplines: hunters, jumpers, eventing, and dressage. 

BH: How did the summer job with Bill Mott come about?

ST: Funny enough, my cousins were childhood friends with Riley, so the connection was made there. My mom's side of the family is from the Saratoga area, and my grandpa was a huge horse racing fan, and while I was growing up, we all went to the races. They started to bring me every summer, and I was just obsessed with it. A lot of my event horses were off the track, and I just loved Thoroughbreds.

BH: What was the experience like working for Bill?

ST: What I thought I knew about horses was from the horse show world ... it's a totally different world on the racetrack. I thought it was crazy, waking up that early every morning. But I also thought it was really cool. Everything's very organized and the day is based around the same routine. There's a way of doing things—a set schedule every single day. 

Being around high-level horses like War Like Goddess and Casa Creed—horses I hotwalked—and Cody's Wish and Tacitus was very cool.

BH: How did the job with Riley, who worked as one of his father's assistants, present itself?

ST: I got to know Riley and work around him a little more when he and I were with the string stabled at the harness track (in Saratoga). When he had announced that he was going out on his own, I thought to myself, "I want to go out on my own one day." I liked the idea of being part of a business that's being built from the ground up, and seeing it all come together.

When I was working those summers as a hotwalker, I was in college at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. When I went to work for Riley, I switched to online courses to get my degree in business communications. My parents, they've always supported me, but their thing was they wanted me to get my degree and have that as a backup. But they were really excited for me when I took the job with Riley.

BH: Having worked now for both of the Motts, how similar are father and son?

ST: Their horsemanship is unbelievable, and very similar, and not only that, they're very good people to be around. A lot of people when they are talking to Riley, say, "Oh, you're just like your dad." You can kinda see the same characteristics.

BH: What horsemanship skills are you learning from Riley?

ST: My knowledge (about the) horse has really (grown) since working with him. We check every horse's legs in the morning, jog them all up every single morning. His attention to detail has been really eye-opening to me; it has really started to make me pay attention to certain things. Over the past couple of years, what I thought I knew about horses has really changed.

BH: As you worked your way up from hotwalking, grooming, foreman, and now assistant with Riley, what has been the most enjoyable aspect of the job for you?

ST: I think we had (around) 10 horses at Oaklawn that first winter Riley was training—claiming-level horses. But each year, the crop has gotten better and bigger. We've won a couple of grade 1s (Argos and World Beater), and a couple other stakes wins, and now we have two in the Derby this year.

BH: What are Albus and Incredibolt like to work around?

ST: It's been really cool to see them from that moment when they came to Churchill Downs last summer to now, how much they've developed and changed. Incredibolt is definitely quirky, though very professional. Both of them are very classy horses under saddle, easygoing, straightforward. They've been very easy to be around.

BH: You mentioned that your late grandfather was a big racing fan. What did he think of your choice of a career? 

ST: He was so proud of me. He used to call me at 2:30 in the morning to make sure I was up for work every single day. "Are you up?" And I'm like, "Yeah, actually, you're calling me 30 minutes before my alarm. Why are you up?"