Brown: Preakness Stakes date should change to keep Triple Crown relevant, protect horses

The worst phrase spoken in any language, dialect or accent is, “this is the way we’ve always done it.”

Following tradition is fine until it no longer makes sense to continue in the same manner. The Triple Crown is headed for that territory where tradition needs to change.

Something’s got to move. Either leave the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes at their current dates and move the Preakness Stakes to July. Or bump the Preakness back to Memorial Day weekend and the Belmont to the Fourth of July.

Any change is going to have ripple effect and that has to be weighed. But it all should be on the table for discussion and the three racing associations and tracks involved need to be in on the conversation because having the Preakness Stakes two weeks after the Kentucky Derby is untenable. This isn't about the keeping one race viable, the entire industry stands to benefit from the Triple Crown remaining relevant.

Since winning Kentucky Derby 150, trainer Kenny McPeek slow-walked whether Mystik Dan would participate in the Preakness Stakes. And it was primarily based on the event being just two weeks after the Derby.

That’s cutting it close on recovery time, especially during this critical juncture in horse racing where the safety of horses is at a premium.

McPeek wasn’t afraid of running a horse back quickly; he noted he once did off just seven days' rest. But Mystik Dan had a lung infection last November after running 13 days between races, and McPeek didn’t want to risk that again.

Not even for the Preakness.

“If he’s healthy, we’re not scared to go,” McPeek said.

If Mystik Dan scratched for the Preakness, the industry would have failed to capitalize off attracting its largest broadcast audience since 1989 for the Derby.

As it stands, three of the last six Derby winners failed to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown:

In 2019, Country House came down with a respiratory infection after being awarded first when Maximum Security was disqualified for interference in the second turn. The son of Lookin At Lucky never ran again after the Derby.

In 2021, Mandaloun skipped the Preakness to rest and didn’t race again until June. At the time, trainer Brad Cox said on a National Thoroughbred Racing Association conference call, "We just feel like in the best interest of the horse to run him back in two weeks is just not the right thing for him."

(Technically, Medina Spirit was still considered the Derby champion during the running of the 2021 Preakness despite having tested positive for the drug betamethasone just six days prior. His disqualification would not become final until February 2022.)

In 2022, Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed opted to keep the Keen Ice colt on the same schedule that helped him win the Derby as an 80-1 long shot. He sat out the Preakness and waited to run in the Belmont Stakes, where he finished sixth.

It’d taken nearly 40 years for a healthy Derby winner to skip the Preakness. Spend a Buck did in 1985 because of a gimmick promotion that would lead the colt to win a $2 million bonus at Garden State Park in New Jersey.

Horses in this era are no longer bred for three races in five weeks. Last year's Preakness attracted only 2023 Derby winner Mage from the Derby field. This year, Catching Freedom and Just Steel are the only other Derby horses continuing to Pimlico Race Course.

The lack of participation speaks volumes.

As recently as last September, the Maryland Racing Commission has had discussions about moving the Preakness dates, but so far, it hasn't amounted to anything more than just talk. They were considering moving the race back to four weeks after Derby, which would then make it a just a week before the Belmont. When the idea was floated out publicly last August, the New York Racing Association said it had no plans of moving its race.

The way it’s always been done mentality is still winning, although it actually has not always been done that way.

The Triple Crown didn’t fall into its current order of Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes until 1932. So that means for nearly the first 60 years of the races, there wasn’t any continuity. Derby ran on the same day as the Preakness or after it 13 times including a stretch from 1923-31.

Changing the dates won’t destroy tradition. Not attracting the best quality in the field of each race will.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Preakness Stakes date needs to change to keep Triple Crown relevant