As this is written, the next running of the Belmont Stakes (G1) is still scheduled for June 5, 2027, which is 13 days after the Preakness Stakes (G1) set for May 23. This seems tight, especially for a horse who has won the first two legs of the American Triple Crown. Then again, since the late 1960s we have asked Triple Crown aspirants to run in the Preakness on two weeks' rest after the Kentucky Derby (G1). So, maybe a minor shift in the dates is no big deal. And if people want to win the Triple Crown badly enough, they'll show up with their horse when it counts.
The people associated with the last two winners of the Kentucky Derby—Sovereignty and Golden Tempo—did not want to win the Triple Crown badly enough. Either that, or for some reason, other than the boilerplate excuse that coming back in two weeks "was not right for the horse," there was a physical issue that precluded a swing at the Preakness. Thank goodness their colts were spot on for the Belmont at five weeks after the Derby.
Of all the fallacies going around, my favorite is that Kentucky Derby winners have stopped running in the Preakness. Mystik Dan (2024) ran in the Preakness. Mage (2023) ran in the Preakness. Medina Spirit (2021*) ran in the Preakness, despite his looming Derby disqualification.
Maximum Security (2019**) did not run in the Preakness, and who could blame his people for not wanting to have anything to do with the rest of the Triple Crown after his disqualification for racing interference. As for the elevated Country House , he never ran again. Otherwise, between 2000 and 2018, every winner of the Kentucky Derby ran in the Preakness.
The issue has become the depth of the Preakness field beyond the Derby winner. But what should we expect? By mid-May, underdeveloped 3-year-olds have been trained to death and raced just enough to make the Derby field, leaving little left in the division. Officials of the Maryland Jockey Club, with the backing of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, can't be blamed for their modest, eight-day tweak in the placement of their race, which probably won't make much difference. But it's a start.
As for the proposed Thoroughbred Championship Series that was served earlier this week before fully cooked by Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association, the Preakness folks may have dodged a bullet by not being included. Without question, the attention earned by the Triple Crown will be diverted, perhaps even watered down. As ideas go, this one looks like racing's version of a White House ballroom—tearing down a perfectly good East Wing to build something with zero demand.
Still, hats off for the effort, especially if the promised television coverage results deliver. Many such series have come and gone, often marred by a final act that defied the spirit of their lofty intentions. The most infamous were:
- 1987: Alysheba wins the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but finishes fourth in the Belmont Stakes, thereby losing the Visa Triple Crown series bonus of $1 million to Bet Twice, the Belmont winner who was second in the first two jewels. On that day, two out of three was bad (sorry, Meat Loaf).
- 1991-92: The American Championship Racing Series unfurled to mostly rave reviews, although the winner of the last race, In Excess in the Woodward Stakes (G1), had to take a backseat to runner-up Farma Way, who collected a $750,000 bonus for being the series point leader. The official chart looks a little strange, with a winner's purse of $300,000 and second place worth $860,000.
The ACRS fell apart after a second, turbulent year of cancellations, rescheduling, and intramural squabbles. But the idea was solid, and there still should be room for such a series for older horses today. - 1994: After winning the Turf Classic Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs, Paradise Creek's chances for a $1 million bonus for a sweep of the three major turf races run in parallel with the Triple Crown were scuttled when owner-trainer Dickie Small scratched longshot Dancing Douglas in a fit of pique from the Dixie Handicap (G2T) on Preakness day. (Officials did not have a mandatory medication stall prepared, causing the horse to miss the window for medication treatment.)
The bonus fine print required at least six starters, and the scratch reduced the Dixie field to five. Bill Mott, the trainer of Paradise Creek, wasn't exactly counting his money yet. But he was not a happy camper. After Paradise Creek won the Dixie and then the Manhattan Stakes (G1T) on Belmont day, Small was removed from the Mott Christmas card list. - 1996: California's three major tracks and a Las Vegas hotel-casino came up with a bonus scheme to link the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), and Pacific Classic (G1) under the banner of the MGM Grand Classic Crown. If a horse (cough, Cigar, cough) could win all three, a $2 million bonus would be awarded. Without a sweep, there was a $500,000 bonus for the horses who at least ran in all three and racked up performance points.
Well, Cigar missed the Santa Anita Handicap with a quarter crack and blew off the Gold Cup to run in a special race at Arlington Park. By the time the Pacific Classic came around, the only horse who turned up in all three was Luthier Fever, a 5-year-old California-bred who ran second at Santa Anita and was pulled up without finishing at Hollywood Park.
His entry in the Pacific Classic as the only horse eligible for the $500,000 bonus was so scorned that his trainer Ted West refused to play along. The Mexico City-based ownership got a substitute trainer to saddle Luthier Fever, who made the course, barely, to finish 44 1/2 lengths behind victorious Dare and Go, who upset Cigar. The check cashed.
Since racing has the institutional memory of a mayfly, such historical signposts will hardly get a second glance. And yet, there is a series that has stood the test of time, a whole lot of time, that deserves creative preservation and full support. It's called the Triple something. Look it up.
Hall of Fame
As this is written, the Hall of Fame ceremony being held in the Fasig-Tipton Sales pavilion just around the corner from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is well into its third hour. The Oscars got nothing on our game.
The highlights, as expected, have been the inductions of trainers Christophe Clement and John Shirreffs, who were well represented but sadly not able to savor the day.
The time has passed for scolding those Hall of Fame voters who did not see fit to mark their ballot for Shirreffs when he was nominated in 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, or for Clement when he was up for induction in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Apparently, their deaths—Clement in May 2025 and Shirreffs this year, on Lincoln's birthday—were what it took to put them over the top in the minds of some, which is a morbid way of thinking. But there you go.
Hopefully, the next wave of horsemen to come into consideration for Hall of Fame induction will be able to enjoy the honor, if elected, while still part of the sport. Doug O'Neill, a seven-time nominee, is 58. Graham Motion, 62, has been on the ballot five times. Kiaran McLaughlin, who has retired from training, was nominated 2023-25, and John Sadler, who just turned 70, has been nominated the last four years.
Clement was 59; Shirreffs was 80.
