Photo Credit: NYtimes.com
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Horse racing and college football seem like completely different sports. However, both now face similar problems involving money, power, and competing interests. College football dominates the sports calendar from August through January. Horse racing commands attention during a much shorter stretch. Still, both sports share one frustrating trait. Their leaders often struggle to work together for the good of the sport. That issue surfaced again Wednesday when Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced a major Preakness Stakes change. The race will move from its traditional third Saturday in May to the fourth Sunday. At first glance, the move makes plenty of sense. Horsemen have questioned the traditional schedule for years.
The Preakness follows the Kentucky Derby by only two weeks. Many believe modern horses need more recovery time between major races. That concern has become increasingly important in recent years. Three of the last five Kentucky Derby winners skipped the Preakness. That decision effectively ended their Triple Crown chances before the series reached Baltimore. However, the latest schedule change creates another problem. The Preakness move comes just two days after another major announcement. Churchill Downs Incorporated and the New York Racing Association announced a new six-race thoroughbred series. The series also includes the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont will keep its traditional date. Organizers plan to run the race on the first Saturday in June.
That creates a difficult schedule for horses chasing the Triple Crown. Horses will now have only 13 days between the Preakness and Belmont. The problem becomes even greater because of the Belmont’s distance. The race covers 1.5 miles, making it the longest Triple Crown event. That means horses could face the longest race after the shortest recovery period. The situation seems especially strange for a sport that emphasizes horse safety. The schedule change does not necessarily ruin the Triple Crown. However, the decision does raise questions about whether racing’s leaders share the same vision. Moore strongly defended Maryland’s decision during his announcement. He argued that anyone seeking the Triple Crown would need to come to Baltimore. However, winning the Triple Crown requires more than a trip to Maryland. Horses must also compete in Louisville and New York.
That reality makes cooperation between racing’s major organizations essential. The Triple Crown remains horse racing’s signature achievement. The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont carry enormous historical importance. Only the Breeders’ Cup generates more than $100 million in annual betting handle among individual races. The Triple Crown’s history also makes it unique. Sir Barton became the first winner in 1919. Nearly a century later, Justify became the most recent Triple Crown winner in 2018. The achievement remains incredibly difficult. American Pharoah showed that difficulty when he ended a 37-year drought in 2015.
His victory created one of the loudest moments in modern horse racing. The excitement continued long after he crossed the finish line. That type of moment gives horse racing something few other events can match. Yet financial interests now threaten to overshadow that bigger picture. Churchill Downs, NYRA and the Maryland Jockey Club each have their own priorities. Those priorities include control, revenue, television rights and long-term business interests. The situation mirrors college football’s conference realignment battles. Major conferences often prioritize their own financial interests before the sport’s larger needs. Churchill Downs can protect the Kentucky Derby while gaining additional revenue. NYRA can secure several races for its tracks through the new series.
Maryland, meanwhile, can protect its position around the Preakness. Each organization gains something. However, the Triple Crown itself could lose some of its appeal. The situation did not need to develop this way. The three groups could have worked together on a revised calendar. They could have given horses more recovery time while protecting the traditional Triple Crown structure. Instead, racing officials created separate plans that now compete with one another. Not everyone believes the new schedule will hurt the Triple Crown. Legendary trainer Bob Baffert supports the change. Baffert believes the longer break after the Derby could encourage more Derby winners to enter the Preakness.
He also believes elite horses will accept the challenge of running the Belmont only 13 days later. Baffert has plenty of credibility on the subject. He trained the winners of the two most recent Triple Crowns. His argument deserves consideration. A Derby winner might feel more comfortable entering the Preakness with additional recovery time. However, recent history creates reason for skepticism. Ultimately, horse racing still has an opportunity to make the new schedule work. The Triple Crown can survive if the sport’s leaders put its biggest prize first. The problem lies in the lack of cooperation. Moving the Preakness was not necessarily a bad decision. Creating a new racing series was not necessarily a bad decision either.
The real problem came from making both decisions without enough coordination. Horse racing has a rare and valuable product in the Triple Crown. The sport should protect that tradition instead of allowing business battles to weaken it. The next few years will show whether the new calendar helps or hurts the sport. For now, however, horse racing appears to be following college football’s most frustrating example. Everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to agree on how to protect the whole pie
Author Profile
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Bradley Walker (VP) and Head of our Florida operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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