With 2026 just around the corner, BloodHorse has repeated its year-end online survey to ask some of the sport’s leading figures for their views on relevant issues facing the sport.
Until January 2 in the Blood horse daily and on www.bloedpaard.comwill feature a select group of panelists discussing issues such as the hottest freshman sire for 2026, field size, what competitors tell newcomers they like most about the sport, fixed-odds betting, colt size and the Breeders’ Cup. We continue the series today with a question about the Triple Crown.
While we realize there are countless other voices, we hope these answers will spark meaningful discussion within the industry.
Anyone wishing to share their views is encouraged to submit them in writing to Editorial@bloodhorse.com for inclusion in our letters to the editor. Longer pieces may be considered for an Industry Voices column.
To access our 2023 year-end survey, click the following link for a pdf version.
Responses have been edited for style and clarity.
Ask: With a new look Triple Crown on the horizon thanks to the new facilities being built at Belmont Park and Pimlico Race Course, should the races themselves also be changed in terms of race order, dates of races and distances of races? Or why shouldn’t changes be made?
Mark Casse, Hall of Fame trainer: If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have said it should stay the same. The Triple Crown shouldn’t be easy.
But given the modern trainer who will refuse to back down in two or three weeks, you’ve got the Kentucky Derby, which is always very big, and then there’s a big pullback for the Preakness Stakes. If you have four weeks between each of the three races, you are virtually guaranteed 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’ll run for the Preakness.
This year [Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty] didn’t run in the Preakness, and the extra time might have changed that.
Everything in life is changing, and I now believe that we need to separate the races more. It will also help the Triple Crown and the undercards on those days.
No one wants to talk about this, but some horses need medication to get out of their races, and the two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness make that more difficult because of the wait times for some of them.
Larger wallets can also help. Money talks.
Bill Knauf, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club: Because we are a newly formed organization, the Maryland Jockey Club is taking the approach that we must review everything regarding the Preakness Stakes, including dates, distance and race order. We are dealing with a unique situation newly created by the State of Maryland, and it deserves a fresh look at the best course forward. That said, we recognize the incredible history the breed possesses, and that plays a factor. We are currently conducting analysis on past data and will include stakeholder opinions in the future… all to help us with our decision.
We are in the early stages of finding a broadcast and media rights partner for 2027, which will also play an integral role in the timing of the race. Additionally, we have not spoken to the other Triple Crown tracks as we are focusing on our operation first.
Michael McCarthy, trainer: I am in favor of keeping the Triple Crown as it is with regards to race dates, distance between races and distances of the races. I’m also in favor of bigger purses for all three races.
The Triple Crown must be special. It’s meant to separate good horses from great horses and we shouldn’t change that. It takes a certain type of horse to compete in all three races, despite the elements, the travel, the pomp and everything else on race day. A horse must be very talented and have a very good mind for this.
We’re seeing a lot of racetracks and racing offices moving away from mile-and-eighth and longer dirt races, and I think that’s a shame because there are a lot of horses that want the extra distance.
In terms of wallet, all three races are very good races in their own right. The Kentucky Derby is what it is. It’s America’s horse race. Everyone knows that. But to compete in one of the Triple Crown races, it takes an exceptional effort from both the horse and the people to get there.
Even with a dwindling foal crop, to have one of perhaps 30 different horses competing in the Triple Crown races from a crop of about 16,000 is a tremendous achievement. So there’s something to be said about the reward you should get for participating.
I’d say a purse of well over $3 million for both the Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes should be the least. We have inflated purses for some other races and that seems to be getting 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 attracts the attention of sports fans every year precisely because of the existing formula. That is, three classic races in a shortened period broadcast to a national audience on network television. These events continue to generate record numbers, attendance and television viewers. I fully understand the conversation within the industry about racial dispersion, and I have always been willing to engage in a dialogue involving the leaders of all three organizations, but we must be very careful.
For example, stretching the series over two months would fundamentally change the Triple Crown and likely create even more uncertainty for the horses looking to compete in all three legs.
From the average fan’s perspective, would March Madness be what it is if it lasted more than two months? Disrupting the continuity of these three races could negatively impact our collective ability to maintain public interest. We often confuse the debate within the sector with the opinion of the public. This is a good example of that. The Triple Crown is widely popular and growing.
Tom Rooney, CEO and President of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association: We’re looking at an extraordinary time here, with New York and Maryland collectively investing nearly a billion dollars in these major venues. Additionally, Churchill Downs continues to make significant improvements to their facility.
Ultimately, the Triple Crown calendar and race formats determine what the race tracks want to do. But what benefits one should benefit all. The public wants to see Kentucky Derby horses run in the Preakness Stakes and also in the Belmont Stakes. I am confident that with these new facilities coming online, the leaders of our sport will come together to make the Triple Crown better than ever.
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