Horse racing’s Triple Crown faces a major challenge after Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association announced a six-race series for three-year-olds beginning in 2027. The $5 million bonus series excludes the Preakness Stakes.
The series includes the Kentucky Derby on May 2, the Belmont Stakes on June 5, the Matt Winn Stakes in July, the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes at Saratoga, and a new championship race at Churchill Downs in September. A points system will determine the $5 million bonus winner.
A New Route for Three-Year-Olds
The agreement joins Churchill Downs and NYRA while leaving the Maryland Jockey Club outside the series. The Preakness remains part of the Triple Crown and is expected to return to Pimlico in 2027 after its temporary move to Laurel Park.
Its traditional position, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, has increasingly conflicted with modern training schedules. The last two Derby winners, Golden Tempo and Sovereignty, skipped the Preakness, as did Rich Strike in 2022.
Maryland had reportedly considered moving the Preakness to three weeks after the Derby. The new series keeps the Belmont five weeks after the Derby, making it difficult for horses to contest all three traditional races.
An industry source told Yahoo Sports: “The bigger picture here is the wider future of the sport, and Maryland just ain’t it. You could still run in the Preakness and win the series, but Maryland is on an island. They’re by themselves. They run one big race a year. We can’t let these traditional elements of the sport be anchors for its future, and you can argue we’ve let it go on for too long.”
Maryland Retains Preakness Rights
Maryland exercised its right of first refusal after Churchill Downs agreed in April to purchase the Preakness intellectual property for $85 million from the Stronach Group. Maryland ultimately paid the same amount to retain the rights.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said: “With this final acquisition we are not only leveraging the Preakness’s iconic status and uplifting our horse racing industry, we are revitalizing the communities that directly benefit from the economic opportunities of the race.”
The Churchill-NYRA series will split races between NBC and Fox through existing broadcast relationships, while its financial structure will encourage owners and trainers to follow the six-race schedule.
Traditionalists Face a Changing Landscape
The arrangement could affect the Haskell at Monmouth Park, traditionally a major three-year-old race after the Triple Crown.
The new series places greater emphasis on competition across the season as trainers increasingly space races to manage horses. Owner Mike Repole welcomed the announcement, writing on X: “I applaud @ChurchillDowns and @TheNYRA for working together in the best interests of the sport and for recognizing that evolution requires innovation, real change and the courage to do things differently.”
The Triple Crown remains in place: a horse winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year would still claim the title. The new series creates a separate competitive and financial route that excludes the Preakness.
Source:
“Horse racing’s Triple Crown may be dead”, sports.yahoo.com, August 4, 2026
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