Big changes in horse racing create new questions about the future of the Triple Crown

Two days before Maryland officials were set to make one of the biggest changes to the Triple Crown in horse racing history, the announcement of a new thoroughbred championship series featuring the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes — but not the Preakness — dominated the discourse.

Mark Anthony Thomas of the Greater Baltimore Committee got worried text messages from many in the business community.

“There was immediate concern on two parts,” Thomas said. “One, does this mean the Triple Crown loses its luster? And then second is, how do we fortify the Triple Crown to where it retains its prominence within horse racing?”

The Preakness is moving back to three weeks and a day after the Derby, which will lead off a brand new series of races — and now there are more new questions about the future of the Triple Crown.

Depending on who you talk to in the industry, there are very different answers to that question.

During much of the 37-year drought between Affirmed winning the Triple Crown in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015 , there was plenty of debate over whether it was too difficult for modern 3-year-olds to sweep three races over a five-week span.

“One of the trainers said it to me a few days ago, 'The Triple Crown is supposed to be hard, and it’s not meant to be easy,'” Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf said. “It’s a test, and so the great, great horses are the ones that can finish it and complete it and win all three.”

Justify doing it in 2018 quieted the conversation for a bit. Then, in the past several years, trainers and owners increasingly opted to skip the Preakness after running a horse in — or even winning — the Kentucky Derby.

Two Derby champions in a row and three of the past five bypassed the middle leg two weeks later to shoot for the Belmont five weeks later. Stakeholders, even some of the most staunch traditionalists, began to change their minds about the spacing of the Triple Crown.

Right away, it all but certainly means 2027 will be a ninth consecutive year without a Triple Crown winner.

The Kentucky Derby — by far the pinnacle of horse racing and an event that transcends sports — remains entrenched in its sacred place on the first Saturday in May. The Preakness is set to be run on Sunday, May 23.

But with the Thoroughbred Championship Series announcement on Monday also came word that the Belmont will take place on Saturday, June 5. The 13-day turnaround, especially with the Belmont going back to 1 1/2 miles, is an incredibly difficult ask for even the best 3-year-olds and figures to make it a choice between that race and Preakness for at least next year.

“We made the decision upon what we felt was the best move for the Preakness long term,” Knauf said when asked about the concern over the short gap. “That’s what we control, and that’s what the decision was based off of.”

New York Racing Association President and CEO David O'Rourke was asked Monday what would happen if the Preakness moved from its current timing and didn't want to speculate beyond saying, “If anything else changes out there, of course everyone’s going to have a discussion about what does that mean to our game?”

The Belmont has been on the first or second Saturday in June for nearly a century, except for 2020 when the three races were run out of order because of the pandemic. To give enough space for horses to be considered for all three, it would likely have to go back a week or two but still in June.

“Obviously it’s in Belmont’s court now to determine what is best for their race,” Knauf said. “That’s honestly up to them, wholeheartedly. That’s their decision.”

Knauf said Maryland officials were never party to the discussions between NYRA and Churchill Downs Inc. The six-race series takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; Belmont Park on Long Island and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.

It is unclear how much, if at all, a couple of business transactions had on the situation.

In April, Churchill Downs, Inc. agreed to buy the Preakness intellectual property from outgoing owner 1/ST Racing for $85 million with a plan to license it to Maryland annually. The state, which was taking over control from 1/ST Racing, had the right of first refusal to match and opted in June to do so .

“I don’t know if I even realized what the IP acquisition would mean for the industry as a whole as far as the earthquake that would come of that,” Thomas said.

The Preakness' absence was noteworthy. Columns appeared calling the Triple Crown dead. O'Rourke on Monday said “in no way does this touch the Triple Crown.”

“Each spring, the Triple Crown captures the public imagination, creates new fans and brings people together,” O'Rourke said. “The new series builds on the success of the Triple Crown and adds to it.”

Gov. Wes Moore, at a news conference Wednesday in Annapolis, Maryland, said he did not believe the Preakness being excluded was retaliation for holding on to the property rights.

“What I did take from it was it actually validated why we made the decision that we did to hold on to our IP and hold on to our own destiny,” Moore said.

Asked whether the situation affected negotiations, CDI declined to comment through a spokesperson.

That's anyone's guess after two major moves in a three-day span for an industry that is usually stubbornly resistant to change.

The championship series got hearty endorsements from two-time Triple Crown-winning Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and prominent owner Mike Repole.

“I am in favor of any and all new ideas to grow racing and increase interest in our sport,” Baffert said on social media , while also praising the virtues of the Triple Crown. “The Preakness is integral to racing’s history, present and future, and I hope nothing detracts from its significance.”

Repole said , “Powerful entities and influential leaders working together, collaborating and thinking beyond their own self-interest, that is what can turn this industry around.”

More collaboration as the situation develops could be key to a possible solution. Perhaps the Preakness becomes part of the series or the Belmont moves to later in June as part of a new era of horse racing.

“We’ll have conversations,” Knauf said, “and see where it all develops down the road.”

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing