Sports all around the world have been heavily affected and disrupted by the coronavirus crisis. Leagues and competitions have gone into lockdown, been delayed, or even got completely cancelled in response to the global pandemic.
As a result, many sports are taking historic and unprecedented decisions in order to restart. The NBA are set for a one-off mini league at Disney’s sports complex to complete the season, the UFC have relocated to a Fight Island in the Middle East to stage shows, and football leagues across the globe are resuming inside empty stadiums.
North American horse racing authorities have made similarly historic steps to prevent the cancellation of this year’s Triple Crown, with rescheduled dates and race adjustments to ensure the most prestigious events can still go ahead.
Since the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875, the three Triple Crown races have followed the same order at the same time of year. After the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May, the Preakness Stakes was always held two weeks later on the third Saturday of May. Another fortnight or three weeks later, the Belmont Stakes completes the Triple Crown on the first or second Saturday of June.
Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the schedule for the 2020 Triple Crown has been reworked. Instead, the Belmont Stakes started the series on June 20, and was contested over the shorter distance of 1 1/8 miles, reduced from the usual 1 ½ miles. The Kentucky Derby will then be held on September 5, before the Preakness Stakes stages the Triple Crown finale on October 3.
While this new schedule was made in response to current circumstances, organisers of the Preakness Stakes and its host venue – Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore – will be quietly delighted with the outcome.
The Preakness Stakes is the ultimate middle child of the Triple Crown. Not only is it traditionally staged second in the series, it is also the middle-oldest having been founded six years after the Belmont Stakes and two years before the Kentucky Derby.
It has therefore often taken a backseat in the attention span of horse racing media and fans compared to the other two Triple Crown events, despite holding just as much importance and offering the same points. The 2020 race will also be richer than the Belmont Stakes, with the Preakness prize money standing at $1.5 million compared to the $1 million offered at Belmont. The Derby, meanwhile, remains the richest of the three, with the winning horse set to pocket $1.86 million.
Now, for the first time in history, the Preakness Stakes will host the Triple Crown finale and will enjoy all the attention and interest that invariably comes with it. Chief among that interest will be if a horse has won Belmont and the Derby and will be bidding to become only the 14th to win the Triple Crown by adding its name to the Preakness Stakes winners. History could truly be made as it will be the first ever time that the achievement would be completed by winning at the Baltimore racetrack.
As well as hosting the finale, by going last the Preakness Stakes has bought itself the most valuable of all commodities: time. While the Belmont Stakes will definitely go ahead without fans at Belmont Park in New York, the Preakness Stakes still has time for the coronavirus situation to change to the point where fans will be allowed to attend.
Baltimore has cancelled all special events that require large group gatherings until August 31 and there is hope that such strict measures will allow for the resumption of such events from September onwards.
“There’s still a bit of uncertainty in terms of whether we will be able to have fans in attendance. We’re going to do the best we can,” said Belinda Stronach, the CEO of Preakness Stakes organisers The Stronach Group.
The prospect of fans attending the race will provide a much-needed financial boost for the Preakness Stakes and the Pimlico Racecourse. But more than that, it will allow race fans to be present for a truly historic moment for North American racing as the schedule is likely to revert to normal in 2021 if the Covid-19 pandemic subsides.
For now, though, the Preakness Stakes can look forward to its moment in the sun. To know more about Triple Crown 2020 calendar click here: https://www.twinspires.com/triple-crown