There will be no Triple Crown winner this year. It became official Tuesday when Sovereignty trainer Bill Mott told Preakness Stakes officials that the Kentucky Derby winner will not run in the second leg of the Triple Crown and instead point to the Belmont Stakes.
“We received a call from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness,” Mike Rogers, a Stronach Group executive vice president, said in a media release. “Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes. We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision.”
It opens the door for Rodriguez, the Bob Baffert-trained horse who scratched from the Derby because of a tender hoof. The winner of the Wood Memorial will likely be the favorite unless Journalism runs in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Journalism’s trainer, Michael McCarthy, has still not announced the next race for the Santa Anita Derby winner and runner-up in the Kentucky Derby.
Baffert has won the Preakness eight times. He said on Sunday that the horse’s hoof is fine and the 3-year-old colt was set for Baltimore.
“We’re going to breeze this weekend [at Churchill Downs], and then ship to Pimlico,” Baffert said.
Generally, the Kentucky Derby winner runs in the Preakness even though it is only two weeks later. Horses tend to run once a month although racing again in two weeks was common in the past, but training and racing methods have changed in recent years as the business model switched more from racing to breeding.
Michael Banahan, the director of bloodstock for Godolphin, Sovereignty’s owner and breeder, appeared on “At the Races” radio show with Steve Byk on Monday.
“We fully respect what the Triple Crown means for the industry, for racing in America,” Banahan said. “Most importantly, the decision will be made to do what’s best for the horse. … It looks like he’s come out of the race well. He did have a scrape on his pastern that needed to be treated somewhat. We’ll just see how he gets over that, what his energy levels are going to be like.”
The last Kentucky Derby winner to skip the Preakness Stakes was Rich Strike in 2022. Before that it was 2019 when Country House, the Derby winner when Maximum Security was disqualified, skipped the Preakness because of a cough. He never ran again. His trainer: Mott.
It was more than two decades before Country House when a horse didn’t go to the Preakness. Grindstone skipped the 1996 race because of a bone chip in his knee.
