Preakness Stakes to shift 1 week later in May

For as long as anyone can remember, Baltimore’s Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race has been on the third Saturday in May.

Not any longer.

The Preakness will now be run on the fourth Sunday of May, part of a new vision and TV deal for the historic race that Gov. Wes Moore announced Wednesday.

The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, a race for 3-year-old fillies typically run the Friday before Preakness, will move to the Saturday before.

The new schedule means that the races will often fall on Memorial Day weekend, summer’s unofficial kickoff, a busy travel weekend and now home to Baltimore’s Artscape festival.

The schedule shift is Maryland’s choice as track operators jockey for calendar positions and clout for their races.

Earlier this week, the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes operators — the other Triple Crown races that bookend the Preakness — announced a new $5 million, six-race “Thoroughbred Championships Series” that excluded the Preakness. As part of that move, the races locked in their traditional dates: the first Saturday in May for the Derby and five weeks after the Derby for the Belmont.

Moore said the new race date and TV deal strengthen the Preakness and the Triple Crown.

“The Triple Crown will continue to be one of the marquee sports events of the year, and will continue having Preakness be at the center,” the Democratic governor said during a State House news conference.

The state recently paid $85 million to acquire the intellectual property rights to the Preakness, beating out an offer from Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Moore said the new racing series underscored the need for the state to maintain control over racing in Maryland.

“We made this decision for a simple reason: You cannot control your future if you do not own it. You do not control what the future brings if you aren’t the ones making the decision about what the future brings,” Moore said. “Maryland now own the rights. Marylanders now own the assets. Marylanders will make the decisions.”

It’s unclear whether the state — which owns Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park and is renovating them with taxpayer-backed bonds — will seek to have the Preakness added to the new racing series.

The Preakness has also been under pressure from trainers and owners to push the race later so that horses have more time to recover from the Kentucky Derby before racing again.

The last two Kentucky Derby winners, Sovereignty and Golden Tempo, skipped the Preakness in favor of resting up for the Belmont. Not having a Derby winner in the Preakness is a blow to the race, eliminating the possibility of a Triple Crown winner.

Officials with the Maryland Jockey Club, a nonprofit that operates Pimlico and Laurel for the state, expressed optimism about shifting the race later.

“It’s going to allow us for greater participation and that is simply the goal,” said Bill Knauf, president of the Maryland Jockey Club.

The 2026 Preakness was held at Laurel Park while Pimlico is being renovated. The race is scheduled to return to Pimlico in 2027, and the track will host year-round racing. Laurel is slated to be converted into a training center.

The state also announced a new TV rights deal with NBC Sports, which will air both the Preakness Stakes and the Black-Eyed Susan on its networks through 2032. The Preakness Preview Day in April, which includes the Federico Tesio Stakes, and the Maryland Million Day in October also will be broadcast or streamed on NBC platforms.

NBC also has the media rights for the Kentucky Derby, while FOX has the rights to the Belmont. The networks are splitting the races in the new championship series.

Financial details of the broadcast deal were not disclosed. But Jon Miller, NBC Sports president of acquisitions and partnerships, indicated that if the race does well, the network would pay more money to the state.

“More revenue opportunities for us gives us more money that we can turn around and pay the Preakness and the state of Maryland,” Miller said. “So it works out. It’s a success factor for everybody by moving it to eight days later.”

Miller also said that NBC sought to move the Preakness date a decade ago, but then-owners the Stronach Group wouldn’t agree to it.

Key players in the thoroughbred racing industry expressed optimism about the date switch and new TV deal.

Bob Baffert, who has won the Preakness a record eight times and trained the last two Triple Crown winners, lauded the change.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Baffert said in a text. “Extra week and on a Sunday. Triple Crown tradition stays intact. It’s a win-win for all, because you have a choice to go for it if you think you have the right horse after winning the Derby.”

Baffert is one of the few trainers left with no qualms about running a Triple Crown contender two weeks after the Derby. But even he had joined the chorus of powerful figures in the sport saying it was time to reconsider the traditional calendar.

Maryland-based trainer Graham Motion, who won the 2011 Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom, had long opposed extending the Triple Crown calendar.

“But I think Maryland’s hand has been forced somewhat the last few years, and I do believe the field size will improve because of it,” Motion said of the new Preakness date.

Now, the ball is in New York’s court, as officials there decide whether to keep the Belmont Stakes on the first Saturday in June, 13 days after the rescheduled Preakness.

“I think it would be a terrible shame if New York and Churchill choose not to work with Maryland,” Motion said. “Because the Triple Crown is the most important challenge we have in horse racing and therefore brings the most attention to our sport.”

The New York Racing Association responded to the news with a terse statement, indicating that it’s not budging: “As announced earlier this week, the 2027 Belmont Stakes is scheduled to be held at the new Belmont Park on Saturday, June 5.”

Alan Foreman, longtime representative of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said track operators need to work together to determine what’s best for the horses and the industry. He supports the Preakness date change and attended the governor’s announcement.

“The parties should be talking about what’s best for horse racing in general, not just for their own purposes,” Foreman said.

The Triple Crown, he said, “is the biggest brand we have. It’s the most important brand we have, and so they should be talking collectively about what strengthens the series.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, who did not attend the governor’s announcement, said changing the Preakness date is a “bold move.”

“With the agreement with NBC, it really uplifts and makes sure that the race keeps its place in horse racing and makes sure that we continue it here in Baltimore,” said Scott, a Democrat who was raised near Pimlico in Park Heights.

Mark Anthony Thomas, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said the business community is “committed” to supporting the Preakness.

“Ten years from now, we’re going to look back at this moment, and this will be one of the smartest investments that Maryland has made in one of its most prominent assets,” he said.

Banner reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this article.