Preakness Officials Propose Date Change, Citing Horse Safety: Report

BALTIMORE, MD — 1/ST Racing & Gaming, owner of the Maryland Jockey Club, wants to change the schedule of horse racing's Triple Crown, including moving the Preakness Stakes to a later date to ensure the safety of the horses, according to a report.

In comments to Thoroughbred Daily News, chief executive officer 1/ST Racing & Gaming Aidan Butler said the company is strongly considering moving the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, to four weeks after the Kentucky Derby.

The Preakness is typically held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby.

"We have discussed it internally and believe it's in the best interests of horses and horse safety to move the race four weeks after the Kentucky Derby," Butler told the publication. "This would give horses more time to recover between races to be able to run in the Preakness. Horse safety is more important than tradition."

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes have been run over five weeks beginning with the first Saturday in May since 1969, with the exception of 2020 when the races happened out of order because of the pandemic.

A spokesman for Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Derby, said the track had no comment.

New York Racing Association vice president of communications Pat McKenna said the organization, which runs the Belmont "has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown."

"We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes," McKenna said in an email to the Associated Press.

Changing the timing of the races also was debated years ago during a lengthy drought without a Triple Crown champion. American Pharoah winning all three races in 2015 and then Justify accomplishing the feat in 2018 quieted the conversation until recently.

Horse deaths this spring at Churchill Downs, which caused the track to suspend operations to investigate possible causes, have led to more extensive conversations around the sport. The federally mandated Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recently went into place to oversee track safety, medication and doping and standardize the industry around the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.