Preakness rescheduled for October 3, one month after Kentucky Derby

The Preakness was scheduled for this past weekend, but the DCovid-19 pandemic resulted in an indefinite postponement. On Saturday, when the race was scheduled to run, Maryland governor Larry Hogan announced the 145th running of the race will now take place on October 3rd.

“Under normal circumstances, I would be standing at Pimlico ... presenting the Woodlawn Trophy to the winner of the 145th Preakness Stakes,” Hogan said. “But as we all know these are not ordinary circumstances. However, I am proud to make this announcement on behalf of the state, the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland’s historic racing industry that Preakness 145 will be held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on Oct. 3.”

Two months ago, Churchill Downs announced the Kentucky Derby would be rescheduled for September 5th. That means we will see a month between the two Triple Crown races, instead of what would have been two weeks this month.

There is still no rescheduled date for the Belmont Stakes. The race is still scheduled for June 6th. On April 16th, the New York Racing Association announced it was considering multiple options, which included potentially shifting the race to a later date. Last week, the NYRA thanked New York governor Andrew Cuomo for announcing that horse racing could return without fans on June 1st.

A June 1st re-opening is technically in time for the Belmont Stakes to run, but given the nature of the Triple Crown, it seems a decent bet the race gets bumped back. Weather could result in it getting run in September, ahead of the Preakness.