Sovereignty to Skip Preakness, Point Toward Belmont

Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1), will not run in the May 17 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course. Instead, he will be pointed toward the Belmont Stakes (G1) June 7 at Saratoga Race Course. "We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness. Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes," said Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST Racing, which operates Pimlico. "We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision. We continue to see the excitement building toward the milestone celebration of the 150th Preakness Stakes, and we look forward to an incredible weekend of world-class racing and entertainment." Mott said Sovereignty came out of the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby with no major problems, but he believes focusing on the Belmont Stakes is a long-range decision that can lead to a longer and more successful career for the homebred son of Into Mischief. "I don't know of anyone in the camp that was interested in running him back in two weeks. We definitely discussed it, but we opted to point to the Belmont. He wasn't any more tired than you would expect after the Derby. He came back in pretty good order. But he's had three hard races this year and the race in the mud (the Kentucky Derby), it was a tough one," Mott said. "It's not the fact that you run in the Derby and then you run back in two weeks. It's not that horses can't do that. We opted to look at the long term and his whole career. As a trainer, one thing on my bucket list is winning the Travers (Stakes, G1). I'd love to win it and that's one of the races under consideration." In a text to BloodHorse, Godolphin director of bloodstock Michael Banahan said, "It was a team decision and we both feel it is the right direction for the horse going forward." Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Aron Wellman, head of the group that owns Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism, said the defection of Sovereignty will have no bearing on their decision to run the son of Curlin in the May 17 middle leg of the Triple Crown or skip it. "As always, (trainer) Michael McCarthy and our ownership group will make our decision based on what we believe is in the best interests of our horse, Journalism," Wellman said. "Sovereignty's status has no bearing on our decision, although fair play to Bill Mott and Godolphin for showing their hand early and not stringing the media and the connections of other possible Preakness starters along. Journalism will return to the track at Churchill Downs tomorrow, and we'll monitor him day by day as we consider his status for the Preakness." The decision seems certain to spark industry debate about the five-week spacing of the three Triple Crown races, with two weeks off before the Preakness and another three before the Belmont. These days, most trainers are loath to race their top horses with two or three weeks of rest, preferring at least a month. While each Kentucky Derby winner from 1997-2018 raced in the Preakness, this will mark the third time in the last seven runnings that the Run for the Roses victor did not move on to the Preakness. In 2019, Country House, who was trained by Mott, missed the classic due to an illness, and in 2022, Rich Strike bypassed it to run in the Belmont Stakes. When asked if the dates of the Triple Crown races should be changed, Mott preferred to steer clear of the debate but said the five-week series was "a very challenging ordeal." "I would be able to go for the Triple Crown if I wanted to, but it's a very challenging ordeal," he said. "To run in all three races is quite taxing, but kudos to the horses that won the Triple Crown or ran in all the races. If you can do it, great. I guess it's just a question of where your priorities are."