As Thoroughbred racing heads into a new year, it faces the inevitable challenge of learning from the past 12 months and applying those lessons to a new year.
With 2026 at hand, BloodHorse has reprised its online year-end survey to ask some of the sport's leading individuals for their opinions on pertinent issues facing the sport.
Through Jan. 2 in the BloodHorse Daily and on www.bloodhorse.com, a select group of panelists will address issues such as the most exciting freshman sire for 2026, field size, what participants tell newcomers they like most about the sport, fixed-odds wagering, foal crop size, and the Breeders' Cup. We continue the series today with a question about the Triple Crown.
While realizing there are countless other voices, the hope is that these answers will spark meaningful discussion within the industry.
Anyone who would like to offer their opinion is encouraged to submit them in writing to editorial@bloodhorse.com for inclusion in our Letters to the Editor. Longer pieces can be considered for an Industry Voices column.
To access our 2023 year-end survey, please click the following link for a pdf version.
Responses were edited for style and clarity.
Question: With a new look Triple Crown on the horizon thanks to the new facilities being constructed at Belmont Park and Pimlico Race Course, should the races themselves also be changed in terms of race order, dates of races, and distance of races? Or, why should no changes be made?
Mark Casse, Hall of Fame trainer: If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have said it needs to remain the same. The Triple Crown is not supposed to be easy.
But given the modern-day trainer who is going to refuse to run back in two or three weeks, you have the Kentucky Derby (G1), which is always very big, and then there's a big drop-off for the Preakness Stakes (G1). If you have four weeks between each of the three races, you are almost guaranteed to get the Kentucky Derby winner at the Preakness. It doesn't matter if Chad Brown or Bill Mott is the trainer. They want the extra time, and if they get it, they will run in the Preakness.
This year (Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty) did not run in the Preakness, and the extra time might have changed that.
Everything in life changes, and I now believe that we should separate the races more. It will help the Triple Crown and the undercards on those days as well.
Nobody wants to talk about this, but some horses need medication to rebound out of their races, and the two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness make that more difficult due to the withdrawal times for some of them.
Bigger purses could also help. Money talks.
Bill Knauf, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club: Since we are a newly created organization, The Maryland Jockey Club is taking the approach that we should review everything as it relates to the Preakness Stakes, which includes dates, distance, and race order. We have a unique situation being newly created by the State of Maryland, and it deserves a fresh look on the best course moving forward. With that said, we recognize the incredible history the race possesses, and that plays a factor. We are currently in the midst of performing analysis on past race data and will engage stakeholder opinions in the future ... all to help us guide our decision.
We are at the beginning stages of finding a broadcast and media rights partner for 2027, which also plays an integral part in the timing of the race. Additionally, we have not spoken to the other Triple Crown tracks, as we focus first on our operation.
Michael McCarthy, trainer: I am a proponent of keeping the Triple Crown as is with regard to race dates, spacing between races, and distances of the races. I am also a proponent of larger purses for all three races.
The Triple Crown is meant to be special. It is meant to separate good horses from great horses and we shouldn't change that. It takes a certain type of horse to participate in all three races despite the elements, the travel, the pomp and circumstance, and everything else on race day. A horse has to be very talented to do that and he has to have a very good mind.
We see a lot of racetracks and racing offices getting away from a mile-and-an-eighth and longer dirt races and I think that's too bad because there are a whole lot of horses out there who want the added distance.
In terms of the purses, all three races on their own merits are very good races. The Kentucky Derby is what it is. It's America's horse race. Everyone knows that. But to participate in any of the Triple Crown races, it takes an exceptional effort from both the horse and the humans to get there.
Even with a declining foal crop, to have one of the maybe 30 different horses out of a crop of about 16,000 who compete in the Triple Crown races is a great feat. So, there's something to be said for the reward you should get for participating.
I would say a purse of upwards of $3 million for both the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Preakness Stakes should be the least. We have bloated purses for some other races and that seems to get people's attention.
David O'Rourke, CEO and president of the New York Racing Association: The Triple Crown is the most successful and important series in horse racing. It captures the attention of sports fans every year precisely because of the existing formula. That is, three classic races in a condensed period airing to a national audience on network television. These events continue to generate record-breaking handle, attendance, and television viewership. I fully understand the conversation within the industry around the spacing of races, and I've always been willing to engage in a dialogue that involves the leaders of all three organizations, but we have to be very careful.
Stretching the series out over two months, for example, would fundamentally change the Triple Crown and likely inject even more uncertainty for the horses seeking to compete in all three legs.
From the perspective of the average fan, would March Madness be what it is if it was held over two months? Disrupting the continuity of these three races could negatively impact our collective ability to retain public interest. We often confuse the debate within the industry for the opinion of the public. This is a good example of that. The Triple Crown is broadly popular and growing.
Tom Rooney, CEO and president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association: We are looking at an extraordinary point in time here with New York and Maryland investing almost a billion dollars collectively in these major venues. Additionally, Churchill Downs continues to make major improvements to their facility.
Ultimately, the Triple Crown calendar and race formats are up to the racetracks on what they want to do. But what benefits one should benefit all. The public wants to see Kentucky Derby horses run in the Preakness Stakes and likewise in the Belmont Stakes. I am confident with these new facilities coming online, the leadership of our sport will come together to make the Triple Crown better than ever.
