Kentucky Derby Winner Sovereignty will SKIP the Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes 149 at Pimlico Racecourse, via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Triple Crown isn’t going to feel like the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course. Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will skip the Preakness Stakes.

“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 VP of 1/ST, who operates the Preakness Stakes.

“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.”

The old saying is that the best thing the Preakness has going for it is that it’s the only Triple Crown race that’s guaranteed to have the Kentucky Derby winner. For the second time in four years, that is not the case. Rich Strike also opted out of the Preakness after pulling off an upset in 2022.

“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” Mott said the day after the Derby at Churchill Downs. Ultimately, his connections decided that what’s best for the horse is to wait five weeks between races.

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In the modern horse racing calendar, that completely checks out. The final major Kentucky Derby prep races — Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, and Wood Memorial — are held on the first Saturday of April. The three-year-olds who were at Churchill Downs on Saturday just ran the longest race of their careers. It makes logical sense to give them five weeks to prepare for an even longer race at the Belmont Stakes.

Even if it’s logical and it’s what is best for the horse, it’s not what is best for horse racing. Nothing has more juice than a Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown on the line. Between 1997-2004, there was only one year when the Derby winner did not win the Preakness. There has not been a Derby-Preakness winner since Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018.

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