Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will avoid Preakness Stakes

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For the seventh year in a row, no Triple Crown winner has been.

A few days after winning 151st Kentucky Derbysovereign trainer Bill Mott announced that the horse will skip Preakness next Saturday to focus on Belmont’s stakes.

“I got a call from trainer Bill Mott today that sovereignty doesn’t compete in Preakness,” said Mike Rogers, executive VP of 1/ST Race, which runs Preakness. “We will expand our celebrations to our sovereignty connections and respect their decisions.”

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The sovereignty, which Junior Alvarado rides, will cross the finish line on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to win the 151st Kentucky Derby run at Churchill Downs in Louisville. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Mott told Preakness officials he plans to become sovereign in the Belmont Stakes, the third gem of the Triple Crown, on June 7, at the Saratoga race course in upstate New York. I had a Sunday morning mot Predictions to skip Preakness In the name of long-term benefits.

“We want to do what’s best for horses,” Mott told reporters for Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. “Of course you’re always thinking about triple crowns, but that’s not something we don’t think about.”

The two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby to modern racing changes sparked discussions about the sport over the spacing of races. The derby usually takes place on the first Saturday of May, with a prequeness two weeks later, followed by a Belmont three weeks later.

Sovereignty crossed the finish line and won the 151st Kentucky Derby run at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2025. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

White House officials celebrate the “possession” of the Kentucky Derby Victor: “Sovereignty always wins”

Prominent owner Mike Repole posted a suggestion on social media on Tuesday that he would move Belmont second on a triple crown order four weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and let the involved top horses slide further in an attempt to keep more horses.

This is the third time Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018. The Kentucky Derby winner did not run at Pimlico, joining Rich Strike in 2022 and Country House in 2019 (trained at Mott). It was actually the last leg of the Triple Crown due to the scheduling changes caused by the pandemic.