Sovereignty was disqualified from the Preakness Stakes just a few days after winning the Kentucky Derby. The Derby champion’s owner and trainer chose to forego the Preakness in favor of the Belmont Stakes in June for the second time in four years. In 2022, Rich Strike won at Churchill Downs at odds of 80-1, avoiding the Preakness as well. The races were run out of order in 2020, Medina Spirit ran and finished third in the 2021 Preakness after being disqualified from his first-place finish in the Derby for a positive drug test, and Country House missed the 2019 Derby due to illness after being promoted to the winner when Maximum Security was disqualified for interference.
This indicates that there hasn’t even been a chance to win a Triple Crown when the Preakness gates open at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for the fifth time in seven years. Only once in the 33 years between 1986 and 2018 had such occurred, and that was when a horse retired due to an injury sustained during the Run for the Roses. Why is this taking place? Horse racing has evolved since its prime, when elite athletes like Seattle Slew, Secretariat, and War Admiral were accustomed to competing every two weeks. The top three-year-old horses eligible for the Triple Crown event now appear much less frequently, with longer intervals between, due to breeding, financial considerations, and other causes. “Most trainers despise running their horses back in two weeks,” NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss said. “They feel like it’s bad for the horses.”
Many of the Derby horses that place between second and twentieth place began receiving more rest as they prepare for the Belmont, which is five weeks away, in the early years of the twenty-first century. Though not anymore, it was practically a given that the winner of the Derby would go. Moss claimed that the reason Derby winners’ trainers race in the Preakness is not because they enjoy it, but rather out of tradition. Bill Mott of Sovereignty made it evident the morning after his horse, watched by a record number of people, passed Journalism down the stretch in the mud at Churchill Downs, raising questions about the Preakness. On Sunday, Mott told reporters in Louisville, Kentucky, “We want to do what’s best for the horse.” “You always think abi, of course.”
Many of the Derby horses that place between second and twentieth place began receiving more rest as they prepare for the Belmont, which is five weeks away, in the early years of the twenty-first century. Though not anymore, it was practically a given that the winner of the Derby would go. Moss claimed that the reason Derby winners’ trainers race in the Preakness is not because they enjoy it, but rather out of tradition. Bill Mott of Sovereignty made it evident the morning after his horse, watched by a record number of people, passed Journalism down the stretch in the mud at Churchill Downs, raising questions about the Preakness. On Sunday, Mott told reporters in Louisville, Kentucky, “We want to do what’s best for the horse.” Naturally, you always consider a Triple Crown, and that’s not something we’re not going to think about.”
Does something need to be altered? Horses’ inability to cope with the rigors of three major races in five weeks has been a topic of discussion for decades. That was partly because no one swept the Triple Crown between Affirmed in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015, a 37-year span that caused industry stakeholders ponder tradition vs modern-day developments. Justify achieving it in 2018 to offer the sport a pair of Triple Crown champions in four years quieted that discussion. The current ambiguity regarding Derby winners heading to the Preakness renewed the chatter. On Tuesday, prominent owner Mike Repole posted a suggestion on social media that would promote the Belmont to second place in the rotation and return the Preakness to the first Saturday in June and the Belmont to the first Saturday in July.
What is the answer?
Actually, nobody knows. And is it necessary to implement drastic adjustments like baseball’s pitch clock? After all, Mystik Dan last year and Mage in 2023, the two previous Derby winners, both wheeled back after two weeks to finish in the money at the Preakness. Their trainers wanted to try even though they didn’t win. Additionally, the accomplishment of the Triple Crown by American Pharoah and Justify, trained by Bob Baffert, demonstrated that it was feasible. Because there will occasionally be horses like American Pharoah and Justify that are good enough to blow apart any of the current ideas about spacing, Moss predicted that Triple Crown champions would be present. as well as trainers who don’t care. Baffert and his fellow Hall of Famer, who is 89 D. Wayne Lukas have shown a willingness to go for it after winning the Derby – and even when they do not. Lukas intends to run American Promise in the Preakness after a 16th place finish in Kentucky.
Some have decided to play it safer, and if that becomes the norm, the Preakness’s future is in jeopardy.
