Preakness shifts 2027 dates to entice more Derby horses
Washington, United States (AFP) — The Preakness, the second leg of US horse racing’s Triple Crown, will move eight days later in 2027 with hopes of enticing more entries from Kentucky Derby horses, organisers announced Wednesday.
The Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in state capital Annapolis that the 152nd Preakness Stakes would be contested on May 23 at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.
It will mark the first time any Triple Crown event is raced on a Sunday.
“Moving the Preakness to the fourth weekend in May is a historic announcement,” Maryland Jockey Club President Bill Knauf said.
“We believe the Preakness and the entire Triple Crown series are positioned for growth and great success. This extra week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness opens the Preakness to potential participants who use modern training methods.”
Kentucky Derby winners have skipped the Preakness, the shortest of the Triple Crown events, in three of the past five years in order to focus upon June’s Belmont Stakes, the last and longest of the Triple Crown races.
The Preakness has a traditional spot two weeks after the Derby and three weeks ahead of the Belmont Stakes, but more and more owners and trainers want their horses to have more time to recover from the Derby, although the move will shift the second race closer to the Belmont in New York.
“Our focus is to preserve the tradition of horses running back in the Preakness and to enhance participation in the Triple Crown races,” Knauf said.
“We acknowledge the great history of the traditional Triple Crown spacing between races, but recognise that change must always be examined. This is common in all professional sports. Now is the time for the Preakness.”
Organisers also renewed the Belmont’s US television rights deal through 2032.
“We have successfully secured the future of Preakness here in the state of Maryland for decades to come,” Moore said.
Getting more Derby entrants to compete at the Preakness will boost the intensity of the event with the possibility of a horse completing the flat racing treble.
In a Monday post on X, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said:
“The greatest achievement in racing will always be winning the Triple Crown,”
“The Triple Crown has sustained our sport for more than 150 years and it will continue to do so for another 150 years or more if we appreciate and care for it.”
