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NYRA In No Hurry To Change Triple Crown Set Up

Though he said NYRA is willing to be part of a dialogue involving changing the dates of the Triple Crown races, a hot topic since GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted out of the GI Preakness S., NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke has made it clear that the racing organization has no immediate plans to sign off on proposals that would alter the status quo.

“We are touching on tradition here,” O'Rourke told the TDN Wednesday. “We are touching on the one thing that is sacrosanct to our industry in the U.S. We have to be very thoughtful about any proposed changes.”

O'Rourke cautioned against the industry and the three Triple Crown tracks making any changes without carefully weighing all factors and how any decision might impact the three-race series.

“We understand the arguments on both sides, but this is definitely not an area where a knee-jerk decision should me made,” he said. “It is something that needs to be deliberated. We would welcome input from everyone.”

The chances that the spacing of the Triple Crown races will be changed picked up momentum after the owner of Rich Strike announced that the horse would not contest the Preakness. Rich Strike will become the first Derby winner that emerged from the first leg of the Triple Crown in good health to pass on the Preakness since Spend A Buck in 1985. Rich Strike's owner Rick Dawson said that passing the Preakness, run two weeks after the Derby, was a matter of giving the horse extra time between races in the belief that it would better set him up for the GI Belmont S., run five weeks after the Derby.

The defection was a blow to the Preakness, and 1/ST Racing, which owns Pimlico, has indicated that changing the date of the race is a possibility. In a report Wednesday in the Baltimore Sun, which explored extending the Triple Crown schedule, an unnamed representative of 1/ST Racing told the paper that the company “is looking at this internally and intends to speak with other Triple Crown partners once we are through Preakness 147.”

When asked for additional comment, 1/ST Racing Chief Operating Officer Aidan Butler texted the same statement to the TDN.

Among those in favor of extending the spacing between Triple Crown races, the most popular change would be for there to be four weeks between the Derby and the Preakness and another four weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont. Had the change been made for this year's Triple Crown, the Belmont would be run July 2.

An argument can be made that having just two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness has caused problems for the Preakness. The Preakness field of nine includes just three horses that ran in the Derby. However, the current spacing of the races has not been a major issue for the Belmont. While many Derby horses skip the Preakness because of the two weeks' rest, normally, many of those same horses come back for the Belmont.

Still another argument can be made that even with its issues, the Triple Crown has never been more popular, both with racing fans and the general public. Would changing the schedule be a matter of fixing what isn't broken and can the public's interest be sustained over a two-month or more period? O'Rourke said that is something that needs to be considered.

“With what we've been seeing lately when it comes to the Triple Crown, you have to be hesitant to touch something like that,” he said. “That's a concern. This is the one thing in racing that is growing and works really well. It's a worldwide event. You have a Triple Crown contender and everybody is watching. To lose that momentum, yes, that is a big concern.”

Despite O'Rourke's reservations, there's nothing NYRA can do if 1/ST Racing makes the call to change the date of the Preakness. In the event that the date of the Preakness is changed, NYRA would likely be forced to move the Belmont.

“The possibilities are, we could either stay where we are, we could move it a week, we could move it two weeks,” he said. “We would probably open a dialogue with other people in the industry. It impacts more than just one race, especially for us. Right now, it's just too off-the-cuff and these are not the type of decisions that should be made off-the-cuff.”

For now, it isn't expected that any decisions will be made regarding the future of the Triple Crown until after the conclusion of the Belmont. Perhaps 1/ST Racing will, at that point, pull the trigger and move the Preakness starting in 2023. At the very least, O'Rourke hopes that doesn't happen without taking into account the myriad factors involved in the equation.

“This event impacts more than just the three participants.” he said. “It impacts everything. We feel if we were ever going to touch this, we would much prefer an industry-wide dialogue and as much consensus as possible.

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Change the Triple Crown? Let’s Not Start That Nonsense Again

I suppose it wasn't a complete surprise that the connections of Rich Strike (Keen Ice) announced Thursday that their GI Kentucky Derby winner will not run in the GI Preakness S. and will instead point for the GI Belmont S., forgoing any chance he might have had to win the Triple Crown. Owners and trainers have grown so frightened by the idea of running their horses back on two-weeks' rest that something like this was inevitable.

So this year's Preakness, missing the feel-good 80-1 winner of the Derby will not be as good as it could have been. Does that mean it's time to change the structure of the Triple Crown and put more time between the Derby and the Preakness? No.

By all accounts, Rich Strike is in the best form of his life and came out of the Derby in good order. But that wasn't good enough for owner Rick Dawson and trainer Eric Reed.

The last Derby winner to skip the Preakness was, actually, last year's winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief). But he wasn't declared the winner of the Derby until well after the race, when Medina Spirit (Protonico) was officially disqualified. Before that, there was Country House (Lookin at Lucky), who also picked up the win thanks to a disqualification. But he came out of the Derby with a problem and never raced again. Before that, there was Grindstone in 1996, who suffered an injury and was retired after the Derby. In 1985, Spend a Buck won the Derby and passed on the Preakness to shoot instead for a $2.6 million payday he was eligible for if he were to win the Jersey Derby.

You have to go all the way back to 1982 and Gato Del Sol when a Derby winner passed the Preakness fo no other reason than the connections didn't think running back so quickly was the right move. Gato Del Sol finished second in the Belmont.

I disagree with the decision made by Dawson and Reed. There's no reason why a healthy, fit horse can't run back in two weeks. There's that and they have a chance to make history by winning the Triple Crown. That's not something anyone should just toss away. But I understand where they are coming from. They genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing by the horse and there's never anything wrong with that.

Their horse. Their decision. It happens. Let's move on.

But some aren't willing to do that. Within minutes of the announcement out of Pimlico that Rich Strike would not run in the Preakness, there was the expected hue and cry that it's time to change the Triple Crown. Maybe four weeks between races. Or maybe more. Some even want to change the distances of the races, shorten them and end with the mile-and-a-quarter Belmont S. Call it the Triple Crown Lite.

Coming into the 2015 Triple Crown, the clamor to alter the Triple Crown was at a fever pitch because it had been 37 years since a horse had swept all three races and the pundits were saying winning three very tough Grade I races in a five-week span was impossible. Except it wasn't. American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) proved it could be done. Three years later, Justify (Scat Daddy) did it again. That was two Triple Crown winners over a 4-year span and the “let's change the Triple Crown” crowd went quiet.

The reason why the Triple Crown should never be changed is simple and, I would think, obvious. One of the reasons it is so hard to win is because the spacing of the races does indeed present a huge challenge. But that's exactly the way it should be. This is very hard and that's why it has only been done 13 times and every horse who has pulled it off is, rightly, considered an immortal. Putting more time between races would cheapen the accomplishment and all future Triple Crown winners would deserve to have an asterisk next to their names. That just can't be.

Yes, a Preakness with Rich Strike is a better, more compelling race that one without him. But this year's Preakness has a lot to offer. Trainer Wayne Lukas, who would rather have his right and left arm cut off than skip the Preakness with a Derby winner, has all but taken care of that. The filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) is a terrific story and her quest to pull a Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) and beat the boys in the Preakness makes this a fascinating race. Derby runner-up Epicenter (Not This Time) is coming back for round two and is a very good horse who would have been the favorite whether Rich Strike ran or not.

On Preakness afternoon, Rich Strike will spend his afternoon resting and relaxing in his stall at trainer Eric Reed's Mercury Equine Center. Jockey Sonny Leon will ride a couple of $5,000 claimers at Belterra Park. It's OK. The Triple Crown will be just fine.

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Derby Winner Rich Strike To Bypass Preakness

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), who sensationally upended last Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby as the 80-1 longest shot in the field of 20, will bypass the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 21, owner Rick Dawson said Thursday afternoon.

“Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the Kentucky Derby–should we not run in the Derby, we would point toward the Preakness, should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome and the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time and rest and run in the Belmont or another race and stay on course to run with five or six weeks' rest between races,” Dawson said in a statement released by 1/ST.

“Obviously, with our tremendous effort and win in the Derby, it's very, very tempting to alter our course and run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group, however, after much discussion and consideration with my trainer Eric Reed and a few others, we are going to stay with our plan of 'what's best for Ritchie is what's best for our group,' and pass on running in the Preakness, and point toward the Belmont in approximately five weeks.

“We thank the wonderful Preakness and Pimlico folks that have reached out to us and very much appreciate the invite.”

The Derby winner's defection comes just one day after trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed that GI Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath (Arrogate) would back up in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Epicenter (Not This Time), who finished 3/4 of a length behind Rich Strike in the Derby, is also moving on to Old Hilltop, while a decision on third-placed Zandon (Upstart) is pending. The latter's stablemate Early Voting (Gun Runner) is already a confirmed starter in the Preakness and Derby fourth Simplification (Not This Time) is already on the Pimlico backstretch.

Claimed for $30,000 out of a second-out maiden victory at Churchill last September, Rich Strike was beaten 14 lengths into fifth by Epicenter in the Dec. 26 Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds and entered the Derby off a third behind Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park Apr. 2.

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Seven Supplemented To Triple Crown Series

Seven 3-year-olds, headed by recent G2 UAE Derby runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front), have been supplemented to the 2022 Triple Crown series for a fee of $6,000 prior to the late closing date this past Monday, Mar. 28.

Owned by Michael and Negar Burke, Summer Is Tomorrow is a two-time winner from seven starts in Dubai, having won a Feb. 25 allowance by 8 1/4 lengths going seven furlongs prior to his effort in the UAE Derby, in which he set the pace and was run down late by Japan's GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}). The bay, trained by Bhupat Seemar, earned $200,000 and 40 Kentucky Derby points for the effort.

Azure Coast (Street Sense), who came from the clouds to win the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan Feb. 11, has also been supplemented by owner Vladimir Kazakov and trainer Pavel Vashchenko. A distant ninth behind Summer Is Tomorrow in the UAE Derby, Azure Coast has yet to amass any Derby points.

The other late Triple Crown nominees include Bye Bye Bobby (Quality Road), second in Sunday's GIII Sunland Derby; O Captain (Carpe Diem), third in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S.; Shake Em Loose (Shakin It Up), winner of Laurel's Private Terms S.; recent Gulfstream allowance winner Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator); and Win the Day (Midshipman), who graduated at third asking in his dirt debut going a mile at Santa Anita Mar. 6.

The seven supplements take the number of 2022 Triple Crown nominees to 321. Any horse that has yet to be nominated at the first two stages can become Triple Crown eligible through supplemental payments made at the time of entry for the GI Kentucky Derby ($200,000), GI Preakness S. ($150,000) and GI Belmont S. ($50,000).

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