The field is shaping up for the May 17 Preakness Stakes, and although 2025 Derby Winner Sovereignty won’t be posting up for the race, runner-up thoroughbred Journalism will be running as an odds on favorite, along with fellow Ocala-area Derby contenders American Promise and Sandman.
That means there won’t be a Triple Crown winner this year; the team for Sovereignty ultimately decided to forego the second leg of the series and give the horse some time to rest, which has become more of a common practice. We’ve observed before that this isn’t the first or the last time a Derby winner has passed over the Preakness; in 2022, Rich Strike’s team decided not to compete at Pimlico.
In 2024, Derby winner Mystik Dan was routed by Seize the Grey and took 2nd place in the Preakness, and trainer Kenny McPeek now regrets the decision to run, saying if he had a do-over, he would pull the horse out of the race.
“I think it was a mistake on my part,” he admitted Friday in an interview with Horse Racing Nation. “If I had skipped the Preakness, would my horse have been fresher and stronger and maybe not taken as much steam out of him for later in the year? I believe so.”
For owners and the trainers, the priority is for the horse’s health and longevity and making sure the animals aren’t exhausted from constant competition. It wasn’t a hard choice for Sovereignty’s trainer Bill Mott.
“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” he told the Courier-Journal. “Over the years, people have realized that spacing these horses out a little bit gives you the opportunity to make them last a little longer. We’re looking at a career, and you want the career to last more than five weeks.”
While it’s exciting when a horse wins the Triple Crown, it’s also an enormous challenge in stamina and endurance; running three high-octane races with only two weeks in between each of them requires careful thought, consideration, and a thorough understanding of the horse throughout the process. Competing for and winning the Triple is a huge feat that takes an immense commitment not only to the training and conditioning of the horse. If, however, the team feels it’s in the horse’s best interest to take a break, it signals a higher priority on his health and well-being – and his chances of running many other races in the future. McPeek said Mystik Dan was “spent” after the 2024 Kentucky Derby. When the full six-week Triple Crown run was completed, the trainer said it took a long time for him to recover his full strength.
McPeek, who also trained 2025 Derby contender Render Judgment, has said he’d like to see the Triple Crown series spread out over a longer period in between races. He spoke to Mott after the race about the decision to take Sovereignty on a break.
“He just felt like coming back for the Belmont at Saratoga; this horse is based there, really knows the racecourse.” McPeek said. “I think he’s wise.”
So, although Sovereignty will be taking a break during Preakness, he’ll have some extra and well-deserved down time after an extraordinary Derby win. He’ll be back in the thick of it soon enough, though, as he’s currently scheduled for and is expected to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
Sandman
Trained by longtime Ocala resident Mark Casse, Sandman was purchased for $1.2 million at the 2024 OBS March Sale by West Point Thoroughbreds/D.J. Stable/CJ Stable. Now owned by Florida breeders Vincent and Teresa Viola in the name of their St. Elias Stable in partnership with D.J. Stable LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stable. He is also a graduate of the early training program of Tom McCrocklin of Ocala, who consigned the striking gray or roan colt at OBS.
For more information on the starting lineup and any changes to the post up on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, visit NBC Sports Preakness and the NBC Insider page for details about breaking news and where to watch the May 17 races.
Cheers to fast horses and a great race!
