Pimlico Race Course owner The Stronach Group has talked about moving the Preakness away from the trackGETTY IMAGES
The news that Kentucky Derby winner Country House will not compete in the Preakness Stakes is "another blow" to the event and Pimlico Race Course as fans "wonder how much longer the race will be run at its historic home," according to a front-page piece by Childs Walker of the BALTIMORE SUN. Next Saturday's race will mark the "first time in 23 years that the Derby winner will not compete for the second jewel in the Triple Crown." The Preakness field will also be "without the top three Derby finishers for the first time" since '51, and that stat "doesn’t even account" for the absence of Maximum Security, who finished the Kentucky Derby first before being disqualified. The Preakness is still "expected to draw a massive crowd with its combination of sporting competition and infield entertainment." But it is "now in the position frequently faced" by the Belmont Stakes when the Triple Crown is no longer on the line: "Attendance and television ratings inevitably drop." Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association General Counsel Alan Foreman: "It’s not that we’ve done anything wrong or the Stronach Group has done anything wrong. We’re just a victim of circumstances" (BALTIMORE SUN, 5/8).
BRACE FOR IMPACT: In DC, Matt Bonesteel notes the absence of a Triple Crown possibility has "historically depressed TV ratings for and betting on the next race in the series." After American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in '15, the '16 Belmont Stakes that had no Triple Crown on the line was the "lowest-rated and least-watched" since '10, and the "total amount bet on the race fell" from $82.4M to $52.2M. Attendance also "fell, from 90,000 to 60,114" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/8). In Louisville, Jason Frakes writes the "lack of a Kentucky Derby winner is just another blow for Pimlico, which announced in March that it was closing 6,670 seats at the facility because of structural concerns." This while The Stronach Group "wants to move the Preakness from Pimlico to Laurel Park but has met resistance from Maryland politicians" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/8).
BAD TIMING? ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt noted many people in the horse racing industry "aren’t fans of having to race two weeks after" the Kentucky Derby. He said, "Given the overarching issues that haunt the sport with the deaths at Santa Anita as Exhibit A, the time is right for conversation about changing the Triple Crown layout." Van Pelt: "We all understand the role television plays here, so you’d need some help from your partners on that side, but look at the way golf changed its calendar." Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde said racing two weeks after the Derby is "something that most people just don't want to ask their animals to do," and it is "time to very seriously look at changing the schedule" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 5/8).
