National Treasure and Johnny V after receiving the Preakness blanket (Maryland Jockey Club)
An Op-Ed by Laura Pugh
If 1/ST is smart, they will move the date of the Preakness Stakes.
Yes, I said it. Move one of the jewels of the coveted American Triple Crown…
Here’s the thing though. The Triple Crown is coveted, but thanks to the evolution or devolution of racing, however you want to look at it, the Preakness itself is NOT coveted.
A few years ago, despite being the middle jewel, the Preakness Stakes still had one claim that no other Triple Crown race could say. It produced champions. For decades, the Preakness offered redemption or a rematch for the “best horse” in the Kentucky Derby, to come back and strut their stuff.
Curlin in 2007 had a rough trip in the Kentucky Derby. He came back in the Preakness to defeat Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense on the wire. 2006, we all know the tragedy of Barbaro, however, the Eclipse winner that year was Bernardini, who had his “coming out” in that very same Preakness. 2010, Lookin’ at Lucky had a horrific trip in the Derby but redeemed himself in the Preakness. The very same is true for Point Given and Afleet Alex.
During these times, trainers were not afraid to run back in two weeks to prove their horse got the short end of the stick in the first leg of the Triple Crown. But now, we see fields that are hardly worthy of grade one status, and in the last few years, there has even been talk of the Kentucky Derby winner SKIPPING the Preakness.
Just this year, there was talk of Mage not even going to the Preakness. In 2021, the Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike did skip the Preakness.
This is what Rick Dawson had to say to USA Today when announcing his Derby winner would skip the Preakness. “Obviously, with our tremendous effort and win in the Derby, it’s very, very tempting to alter our course and run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group. However, after much discussion and consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed, and a few others, we are going to stay with our plan of what’s best for Ritchie is what’s best for our group and pass on running in the Preakness and point toward the Belmont in approximately five weeks.
Trainer Eric Reed followed up with these comments. “I’ve never been hard on him,” Reed said. “I space my workouts 10, 12 days instead of seven. I don’t like to run him (back) quick… My obligation is to Rich Strike first.”
What does this say?
It says, ‘We want to go, but it’s too close, so we are skipping it for a race that gives us more time to recover.’ In this case, that race is the Belmont Stakes, a perfectly positioned five weeks from the Kentucky Derby, and is the centerpoint of an absolutely stellar card.
Let’s face it. The Preakness has become the red-headed stepchild of the Triple Crown series. Such a storied race does NOT deserve that.
I can hear the cries now… But making it easier will taint the Triple Crown! Tradition this and Tradition that!
We are in the middle of millions of microscopes. If tradition is the best argument anyone has, then how does that look to the millions of microscopes that are saying “call” every single time this sport puts tradition, money, ratings, etc over the GOOD OF THE HORSE?
For those that say, it will make the Triple Crown easier…. Please, explain to me HOW winning against a BETTER, more ACCOMPLISHED, and COMPETITIVE field is easier than winning a race vs second stringers at best? It’s not. Which goes back to your “tradition” and that should never be enough.
1/ST has to do what is best for its race. The opinion of several top trainers is that it is too close to the Kentucky Derby to run their best back. The Court of Public Opinion also agrees. If 1/ST wants a chance at attracting top talent again, they need to move the Preakness Stakes to a different spot on the calendar.
Not only will it get them a better, more competitive field, but it will also look good because it ties beautifully into ‘the good of the horse’ line that everyone keeps preaching but does absolutely nothing about.
Moving the Preakness Stakes is a smart move, if 1/ST racing really does decide to take that shot. It may suck for traditionalists, but from PR and a bottom-line stance, it’s a perfect win/win scenario.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Past The Wire or its publisher.
