Officials of 1/ST Racing, the owner of Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, have said that they intend to start a “discussion” about the possibility of running the Preakness Stakes at a later date, a move that would disrupt the traditional spacing of the Triple Crown, officials of 1/ST confirmed on Thursday. The possibility of running the Preakness at a later date, which was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, was confirmed at a time when talks about elongating the Triple Crown have been occurring informally among the three tracks that host the races and NBC, which broadcasts the Derby and the Preakness. Any decision to move the Preakness Stakes would have dramatic consequences to the sport and the New York Racing Association, which hosts the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, five weeks after the Derby. Aidan Butler, the chief executive officer of 1/ST Racing, acknowledged that any change to the date of the Preakness would have “implications,” but he said that “the time has come to advance those discussions to the next step.” “The schedule for the Triple Crown has been varied multiple times in the past, and a close look at making some changes is necessary for a number of reasons,” Butler said, in a prepared statement. “For one, allowing additional time between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes would give horses a greater opportunity to prepare and be ready between the Derby and the second leg of the Triple Crown.” :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Butler said that 1/ST would “look forward to engaging with all stakeholders to work through questions and concerns. The future of the Triple Crown is best decided collectively, but we are committed to seeing this conversation through to a positive result.” The current Triple Crown schedule, in which the Derby is run on the first Saturday of May, the Preakness two weeks later, and the Belmont Stakes three weeks after the Preakness, has been in place since 1969 (though the 2020 schedule was upended beyond recognition due to the pandemic). Changes to the spacing have been a subject of discussion for decades, largely due to a worldwide trend in which trainers have increasingly relied on long rests between starts, especially in the divisions for top-class horses. But the traditional schedule has always had enough inertia to resist the implementation of any changes, despite the growing reluctance of Derby runners to wheel back in the Preakness two weeks later. The willingness of many trainers to skip the Preakness with their Derby runners has created problems for 1/ST and NBC in generating interest in the race. This year, only the Derby winner, Mage, ran back in the Preakness, and two years ago Derby winner Rich Strike skipped the race completely. Rich Strike ran in the Belmont. So far, the operator of Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association, has no intention of shifting the date of the Belmont Stakes, according to a NYRA spokesperson. An elongated Triple Crown would also have a dramatic impact on the entire late-season schedule for 3-year-olds, disrupting the traditional summer events on the East Coast that lead up to NYRA’s Travers Stakes, held at Saratoga on the last weekend of August. “NYRA has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown,” said Patrick McKenna, the vice president of communications for NYRA. “We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes.” The idea of creating more space between the races oddly had more firepower in the mid-2010s, at a time when there had been a 37-year drought between Triple Crown winners. Advocates of additional spacing at that time could reasonably contend that the five-week schedule was too taxing for the modern horse. Then American Pharaoh took the Triple Crown in 2015, followed three years later by Justify – who won the three-race series without even starting at 2. However, the debate gained new life recently after Major League Baseball implemented significant rule changes for the 2023 season. Most baseball fans have embraced the changes, which were intended to address dead spots in gameplay and shorten game times. The success of the changes have led some in racing to argue that major changes in any sport can be successful. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.