Triple Crown Debate Sparked By Kentucky Derby Champ Golden Tempo Skipping Preakness

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 15: Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome, gets a bath by groom, Raul Rodriguez, not pictured, as head trainer, Art Sherman, looks on after an early morning work-out in preparation for the Preakness at Pimlico Race Track on May 15, 2014 in Baltimore, Md. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Are Modern Racehorses Less Durable Than Past Triple Crown Winners?

Because all of the Triple Crown races have a long and illustrious history, there is a lot of past performances to evaluate. With all three now over 150 years old, there is quite a bit to digest. As is the case with most things in this game we call life, these are different times in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Horses don’t run with the same frequency as those in years past. For instance, Citation, the 1948 Triple Crown winner had 45 career starts with 10 coming before he ran in the Kentucky Derby including the Derby Trial which was run four days prior to the Run for the Roses. Golden Tempo ran just four times before the Kentucky Derby and his previous race was the Louisiana Derby six weeks before. American Pharoah, who won the 2015 Triple Crown raced 11 times in his career. Times and ways of thinking have changed partly because of the money involved in breeding, but are horses less durable in this day and age?

“I think we had a stronger breed back when I first became involved in the sport”, says Art Sherman, who was the exercise rider for Swaps, the 1955 Kentucky Derby winner and became the oldest trainer to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with California Chrome in 2014. “Their bone structure just seemed stronger. Of course, there was not as much scrutinization in those days as far as rules and regulations. We always thought about our horses first, but we didn’t have to jump through all the hoops modern day people do. But, I do think through breeding over the years, the Thoroughbreds of today are not as durable as those in years past. Winning the Triple Crown has always been very tough and it takes a special horse to do it.”

Should The Triple Crown Schedule Change?

Ideas have been thrown out by people inside and outside the sport regarding a schedule adjustment. In more recent years, the number of Kentucky Derby starters moving on to the Preakness has seen a decline. Some think more space between the races would generate higher participation from those that run on the first Saturday in May.

“My plan is run them first Saturday in May, First Saturday in June, First Saturday in July”, says Kenny McPeek, who trained Mystik Dan, winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby and participant in all three Triple Crown races. “I think it makes it better for the fans especially the casual ones as they know it is the first Saturday in three consecutive months and the horses have nine weeks to run in three races.”

Triple Crown History: Why Winning All Three Races Is So Rare

The racing of horses is the world’s oldest sport. For decades upon decades, the sport of kings has created that mesmerizing adrenaline rush that has captivated audiences around the globe. In the eyes of some, changing the schedule would water down the achievement and transform that 100 proof bourbon into a wine cooler.

“If winning the Triple Crown was easy, everybody would be doing it”, says Tom Amoss, one of the most respected trainers in Louisiana racing history and conditioner of 2019 Kentucky Oaks champion Serengeti Empress. “To win at three different tracks and three different distances against all-comers in a five-week span takes a special horse. This makes a stallion and I absolutely think the series should remain the same and preserve the tradition of true greatness.”

Bob Baffert has won 17 Triple Crown races and has conditioned two Triple Crown winners.

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Bob Baffert Triple Crown Winners Show It’s Still Possible

The Triple Crown has seemed to come in runs. After Sir Barton pulled it off in 1919 and opened eyes as to the significance, three horses did it in the 1930’s (Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral) and four runners made it happen in the 1940’s (Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation). There was a long stretch where these same questions were asked as the next winner of all three jewels was the mighty Secretariat in 1973. The 1970’s saw two more horses hit the trifecta as Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978) both made history. Again, there was a long drought and it was deemed as unachievable until a guy named Bob Baffert dispelled those thoughts.

A veteran of the game, Baffert had been oh so close to achieving Triple Crown glory in 1997, 1998, 2001,and 2002 as he had campaigned three-year olds that won two of the three races. In 2015, the hall of fame conditioner broke the 36-year drought when he guided American Pharoah to wins in all three races. For good measure, Baffert proved it is achievable if you have the right horse and the stars align when he trained Justify to the Triple Crown in 2018.

“I don’t think they should change the schedule because that would lessen the achievement”, says Baffert. “People want to see greatness in sports because that is what attracts their attention. Before there were more rivalries in Thoroughbred racing and a lot of horsemen used the Preakness as an opportunity for revenge if they were beaten by their rival. As long as your horse was healthy, you were eager to get him back on the track, even if it was just two weeks between races. I think the Belmont Stakes being moved to Saratoga the past couple of years and the distance shortened to a mile and a quarter instead of a mile and a half has hurt the Preakness. When Belmont Park reopens and that race is run at its original distance it will help return some normalcy to the series.”

Because of construction and renovations, the Belmont Stakes has been run at Saratoga the last two years (2024, 2025) and will again be contested there this year. Because of the track configuration, the race distance was shortened to a mile and a quarter, the same as the Kentucky Derby. Baffert’s theory about the shortened Belmont Stakes at Saratoga being a factor in where and when these three-year-olds choose to run is shared by others. However, the California-based conditioner is quick to say decisions are usually made for the right reasons.

"All these trainers know their horse better than anyone else”, says Baffert, who has won 17 Triple Crown races. “These young horses go through a lot trying to get to the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown trail. Their connections know the horse and have their best interest in mind when making these decisions. I have never ran in one of these races if I didn’t think my horse was right and other trainers are the same way. The horse takes you to these places so you take care of your horse.”

The Preakness will be run at Laurel Park on May 16 at a mile and three-sixteenths distance and the Belmont Stakes will be conducted at Saratoga on June 6.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com