LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was certainly no surprise Tuesday when news broke that Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty would not run in the Preakness Stakes in less than two weeks.

Anyone around Bill Mott’s barn at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after Sovereignty beat the favorite Journalism, got the vibe that the Godolphin connections had more interest in the June 7 Belmont Stakes in New York state than the second leg of the Triple Crown, May 17 at Pimlico in Baltimore.

“That makes it very interesting to me,” said Mott then of the Belmont’s mile-and-a-quarter distance at Saratoga, rather than the traditional mile-and-a-half distance at Belmont Park, which is under renovation. “I’d like to see (Sovereignty) at his best going into the Belmont.”

“We want to do what’s in the best interest of the horse,” echoed Michael Banahan, the USA director of bloodstock for Godolphin, the international racing outfit based in Dubai, but owns Darley America in both the United States and Newmarket in England.

Those who might criticize Tuesday’s decision are directing their complaints in the wrong direction. There is no “best interest” of the sport of horse racing without the “best interest” of the horse.

Sovereignty will be the fourth Kentucky Derby winner in the last seven years to not run in the Preakness. In modern horse racing, a mere two weeks between the two races makes them too close together for many of today’s thoroughbreds.

“Over the years people have realized that spacing these horses out a little bit gives you the opportunity to make them last longer,” said Mott on Sunday. “We’re looking at a career, and you want the career to last more than five weeks.”

Yes, American Pharoah mastered the feat in 2015, winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont (three weeks after the Preakness) to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Justify duplicated the feat in 2018. Both champions were trained by Bob Baffert.

Those are exceptions, however. Mystik Dan, the 2024 Kentucky Derby winner, ran second in the Preakness to Seize the Grey, then faded to eighth in the Belmont Stakes. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Mystik Dan has raced three times since, finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, ninth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup and second last week in the Lake Ouachita Stakes at Oaklawn.

Mage, the 2023 Kentucky Derby winner, ran third in the Preakness, then skipped the Belmont. He finished his 3-year-old campaign with a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes and a seventh-place finish in the Travers Stakes. He did not race as a 4-year-old and now stands at Airdrie Stud.

Sovereignty is a Godolphin homebred by the stellar stallion Into Mischief, who has sired three of the past six Derby winners — Authentic in 2020, Mandaloun in 2021 and now the 2025 winner. He will be a popular stallion prospect himself, when the time comes.

Meanwhile, the Belmont Stakes is obviously an important race to Mott, whose operation is based in New York. The Hall of Famer won the 2010 Belmont with Drosselmeyer for WinStar Farm. After the Belmont, there is the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 23 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

There is a solution to making the Preakness a more desirable race, of course. Unfortunately, that solution would require something racing is so reluctant to do — change with the times.

Move the Preakness to the first Saturday in June. Move the Belmont to the first week in July. That would make the races safer for the horses and encourage more connections to run in all three.

Will that happen? Probably not. The Triple Crown is a feat, not an organization. Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Park all have different owners who act independently. All three races bank on tradition. And tradition means keeping the dates exactly where they have been for years.

So, without Sovereignty, the Preakness will be a good race, not a great one. Don’t blame the connections, however. Mott is one of the most respected trainers in the sport. Godolphin is one of the most important players in the game. Sovereignty is a long-term investment. They were right to do right by the horse.

It’s the Triple Crown that must change, though few believe that it will.

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