New Horse Racing Series Skips Preakness But Offers Hope for Sport’s Future
Churchill Downs Inc. and NYRA believe the six-event series will inject excitement into thoroughbred racing.
Monday may have been a bleak day for sports in Baltimore, and I’m not just talking about the Orioles trading one-time franchise cornerstone Adley Rutschman.
Earlier in the day, Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association announced the creation of the Thoroughbred Championship Series, a new six-race series for 3-year-old horses that would start next May with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill and end with a yet-to-be-named race at the Louisville track sometime in September.
In between, the series includes the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, the Matt Winn at Churchill Downs, and the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga. Beyond the millions of dollars at stake in each of the races, $5 million will be awarded among the eight horses earning the most points throughout the series.
You’ll notice the Preakness Stakes at the soon-to-be reopened Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore was nowhere in that last paragraph. The middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown is bookended by the Derby and Belmont.
Earlier this year, Churchill Downs announced it intended to buy the intellectual property rights to the Preakness for $85 million. That bid fell through after the state of Maryland intervened and used its right-of-first-refusal in June to acquire the rights instead.
Maryland officially closed on the IP rights deal on Friday. In a press release that same day, the state said, “it remains open to identifying areas of mutual interest with Churchill Downs and other industry partners to benefit the broader Triple Crown and the sport of horse racing.”
Shortly before 9:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Churchill and NYRA made their announcement.
Series to Supplement Triple Crown
NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke said during a press call later in the day that the Triple Crown isn’t dead, and the possibility exists to add races to the new series.
“This builds on top of the Triple Crown, or alongside it,” he claimed. “We don’t change anything with that. I still see the Triple Crown as one of the biggest, rarest things in sports.”
As it stands now, the Derby and Belmont will still be five weeks apart, with the Preakness continuing to take place between them just two weeks after the Derby. The past two Derby winners, Golden Tempo and Sovereignty, both skipped the Preakness, with their connections citing the two-week turnaround time between the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
In modern racing, horses are more likely to have about a month off between races. That roughly matches the timeline of the six series races. Although, according to O’Rourke, horses would need to enter just four of the six races to be eligible for the series prize money.
Bob Baffert, who trained the last two Triple Crown winners in 2015’s American Pharoah and 2017’s Justify, stood up for the Preakness and Triple Crown. While he said Monday on X that he would be interested in running the “right horse” in both the Triple Crown and the new series, he defended the Preakness’ place in racing.
“The Preakness is integral to racing’s history, present, and future, and I hope nothing detracts from its significance,” he said.
Impact Beyond Preakness
The Maryland Jockey Club has not released a statement regarding the Churchill-NYRA news, but according to the Thoroughbred Daily News, the organization that took over management of Pimlico after previous owner The Stronach Group transferred ownership of the track to the state would release a statement on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, when reached by Gambling Insider on Monday, declined to comment on the series but made sure to point out Baffert’s remarks.
The Preakness isn’t the only race that could be affected by the new series. Monmouth Park in New Jersey runs the Haskell Stakes for 3-year-olds in July. It’s part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, with the winner earning an automatic spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Elsewhere, several tracks hold their big 3-year-old race during the window the series will run. That includes the Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown and Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.
Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Monmouth operator Darby Development, told Gambling Insider in an email on Monday that he also had no comment
O’Rourke said NYRA and Churchill were “always open to talking to anyone,” but they want races spaced about a month apart.
“It has to make sense for the series,” he added.
Even if the Preakness and Haskell do not become part of the series, they will likely remain important races on the thoroughbred calendar. Quality horses that either miss out on Derby qualifying or sustained a minor injury to keep them out of the first leg of the Triple Crown are often targeted for a return to racing in the Preakness, and the Haskell would remain lucrative should it retain the Breeders’ Cup tie-in.
Change Brings Controversy, But Also Solutions
Any announcement regarding changes in horse racing would meet with at least some controversy or apprehension from a segment of fans. That’s the nature of a sport that has traditions dating back to the 1800s and a fan base that skews older.
While there’s concern about the Triple Crown’s future based on the initial reactions on social media, the new series offers solutions to other gripes regarding the sport.
For starters, the series connects the sport’s most popular events with other important races later in the season. Both Churchill (NBC) and NYRA (FOX) will use their national TV partnerships to promote the series. The hope is that casual fans who pick up a rooting interest for a horse during the Triple Crown will watch the contender in subsequent races.
CDI and NYRA are also looking to put the nation’s best 3-year-olds on the same track more often. This year, Golden Tempo beat Renegade in a thrilling Derby finish and came back to win the Belmont a month later with Renegade finishing third. Both are scheduled to run in the Travers next month, but Golden Tempo’s connections held him out of the Jim Dandy, which was won by Renegade.
If a series connected the Jim Dandy to the Derby and Belmont, would Golden Tempo’s connections have considered entering the horse? Obviously, equine safety should take precedence over any race, but if a horse is sound, the bonus payout from the series serves as a tantalizing incentive.
“They (fans) want a championship they can follow throughout an entire season, and they want to see a champion crowned each year to celebrate,” Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said.
Rough Out of the Gate
Not everything goes smoothly from the start. The new series is no different.
NYRA and Churchill Downs held a teleconference with media on Monday afternoon that ended abruptly after one question amid some confusion. Eventually, NYRA got O’Rourke on a later call with reporters, while Churchill Downs answered questions via email.
The inaugural year of the series may have similar hiccups, but if given the time, it could offer what racing needs to grow its fanbase. As O’Rourke added, it could potentially expand to other divisions, such as 3-year-old fillies or older horses, and open opportunities for other tracks to participate.
Mike Repole, co-owner of Renegade, applauded Churchill Downs and NYRA for “working in the best interests” of racing. It’s not unlike what Repole is trying to do with the United Football League.
“Let’s be clear, one three-year-old colt racing series is not going to save the game or transform this entire industry,” he posted on X. “But the system and process behind it can be (an expletive) game changer.”
Gambling Insider delivers the latest industry news, in-depth features, and operator reviews that you can trust. Our team combines rigorous editorial standards with decades of specialized expertise to ensure accuracy and fairness. We are committed to delivering clear, impartial, and dependable coverage across the global gambling sector.
