Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty skipping Preakness, trainer says: 'What's best for the horse'
For the seventh year in a row, there will not be a Triple Crown winner.
Just days after winning the 151st Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty's trainer, Bill Mott, announced that the horse will skip the Preakness next Saturday to focus on the Belmont Stakes.
"We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness," said Mike Rogers, executive VP of 1/ST Racing, which operates the Preakness. "We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision."
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Mott told Preakness officials the plan will be to enter Sovereignty in the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of the Triple Crown, on June 7 at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. Mott on Sunday morning had foreshadowed skipping the Preakness in the name of long-term interests.
"We want to do what's best for the horse," Mott told reporters at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. "Of course, you always think about a Triple Crown, and that's not something we're not going to think about."
The two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and changes in modern racing have sparked debate around the sport about spacing out the races. The Derby typically takes place on the first Saturday of May, with the Preakness two weeks following, and then the Belmont three weeks after that.
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Prominent owner Mike Repole earlier Tuesday posted on social media a proposal to move the Belmont to second in the Triple Crown order, four weeks after the Kentucky Derby and sliding the Preakness back further with the aim of keeping more of the top horses involved.
This is the third time since Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018 that the Kentucky Derby winner did not run at Pimlico, joining Rich Strike in 2022 and Country House (also trained by Mott) in 2019. In 2020, hopes of a Triple Crown were dashed before the Preakness. Due to scheduling changes caused by the pandemic, it was actually the last leg of the Triple Crown.
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Sovereignty crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs at 2:02.31. It was Mott's second Derby victory of his career.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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