Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty won’t race in Preakness to end Triple Crown hope

Sovereignty won’t attempt to reign over the Triple Crown.

In what is a sign of the times and a new, modern approach to horse racing, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner is skipping the Preakness Stakes, instead focusing on the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga next month.

Though most Kentucky Derby winners don’t think twice about going to the Preakness and continuing their bid for the Triple Crown, we’re seeing more and more trainers of Derby runners opt to skip the trip to Pimlico and point their horse to the Belmont in early June.

3

The reason cited is almost always the quick turnaround.

The Preakness is held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, which is arguably the most grueling contest on the calendar due to the distance, 20-horse field and the pressure that comes with running in the most famous horse race in the world.

“We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness. Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes,” Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST, which runs the Preakness, said in a statement.

Mott did note that Sovereignty, who beat out 3-1 favorite Journalism in the Run for the Roses, suffered a scrape on his right front pastern, though it is unclear if that is the reason why he will be foregoing the Preakness.

Undoubtedly, the decision will impact ticket sales and revenue for the Preakness, which is already considered to be lagging well behind the two legs of the Triple Crown that bookend it.

3

Pimlico Race Track’s financial future has been a concern for years, and the emerging trend of skipping the Preakness will not help matters. 

Sovereignty is the second horse in the past four years (Rich Strike, 2022) to bypass the trip to Maryland and head straight to New York.

3

“We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision,” Rogers said. “We continue to see the excitement building toward the milestone celebration of the 150th Preakness Stakes, and we look forward to an incredible weekend of world-class racing and entertainment.”

Justify is the last horse to win the Triple Crown in 2018, three years after American Pharoah became the first horse to accomplish the feat since Affirmed in 1978.

Both Justify and American Pharoah were trained by Bob Baffert.