A big change is coming to horse racing’s Triple Crown, with the moving to three weeks and a day after the Kentucky Derby and being run on Sunday for the first time.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club Wednesday. No Triple Crown race has ever taken place on a Sunday in the century-plus-old history of the series.
The shift marks on the horse racing calendar, following . Except for , the Preakness has been on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, since 1950.
Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf acknowledged the tradition while also calling this the time to move the Preakness back.
“It鈥檚 been discussed for a very long time (and) we recognized the different trends and training methods recently,” Knauf told The Associated Press. 鈥淲e entered the discussion maybe even saying, ‘Hey, is two weeks the right amount? I think the week was the right placement. It still gives an incredible test for a horse and a champion to go through that, even at three weeks.鈥�
The aim is to get more Derby horses to participate in the second leg of the Triple Crown. For decades, it was normalcy but has become increasingly rare in recent years.
Two consecutive and three of the past five Derby winners have bypassed the Preakness to aim for the final jewel, the in June. Of the 95 horses who ran in the Derby dating to 2022, just 13 have gone to the Preakness (13.7%) with just one winner in that group.
鈥淲e are going to move it back to be able to ensure that the winner of the Kentucky Derby will then be prepared to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown,鈥� Moore said at a news conference in Annapolis. 鈥淏y moving the day, you鈥檙e then providing additional time and space for our horses and the people who compete in the Derby to be able to then now compete to be able to be part of that Triple Crown.鈥�
For at least next year, it has the chance to produce the opposite effect, with the Belmont scheduled for June 5, as announced Monday. Going from a three-week to a 13-day gap between the Preakness and Belmont could force owners and trainers to choose between them, given that modern 3-year-old thoroughbreds typically get significantly more time off.
Knauf said it was a decision made for the long-term future of the Preakness.
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 is the only trainer to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, Monday that if he has the right horse from the Kentucky Derby, he will continue to go to the Preakness annually. That was in response to the unveiling of of races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Belmont Park on Long Island and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York and does not 鈥� for now 鈥� include the Preakness.
Future changes to the schedule are always possible beyond 2027. The shift does put the Preakness on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend beginning in 2028 and running through ’31.
鈥淲e believe this creates tremendous excitement for our local economy and businesses,鈥� Knauf said. “Baltimore will become the place to be on Memorial Day weekends, as the spotlight of the racing world descends on Pimlico.鈥�
The change comes with an extension of the media rights agreement with NBC Sports through 2032. The Preakness 鈥� as well as the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for fillies on the third Saturday in May 鈥� will air on NBC and Peacock for the next six years.
NBC Sports President of Acquisitions of Partnerships Jon Miller said at the news conference that the network as far back as 10 years ago broached the idea of pushing the Preakness back at least a week, but previous ownership was not interested.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a success factor for everybody by moving it to the eight days later,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭he idea of doing it Saturday-Sunday, quite honestly, was to create a weekend celebration and not just have it be a one-day event in the middle of a Triple Crown series.鈥�
Moving the Preakness coincides with its return to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore as part of a , after a . Next year, there is expected to be limited capacity, with the full, new Pimlico scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2028.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something business has been a huge champion of,鈥� Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas told the AP. 鈥淎nd so people are very enthusiastic around the state鈥檚 investments.鈥�
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